At a time when unemployment is at an all time high in the country, Satna Collector Anurag Verma, IAS, is encouraging the youth of this Madhya Pradesh district to get their own startups running and has promised all kinds of assistance to set them up.
Knowing too well that if youths are not engaged in some form of gainful pursuits, they can easily be led astray, he decided to help them become self-reliant and earn money through their own ventures. Such youths at times have great ideas, but due to lack of resources and facilities, fail to Implement those ideas. So, the officer thought of supporting them to turn their ideas into reality. Indian Masterminds got in touch with Mr. Verma to get more details.
NUDGING YOUTH TOWARDS STARTUPS
Satna is a developing district and like any other developing district, it is not flushed with all the facilities that one would usually find in a metro. Due to this, there are people who have potential but have to step back from their dreams because it’s hard for them to pursue them in the absence of required resources and also because of the lack of proper guidance.
For such people, the officer’s initiative has come as a boon. The administration called upon the youths of Satna to come to them with their unique ideas for startups and promised them all necessary help to get them going. They named this initiative, Smart Satna Hackathon 1.0.
The hackathon has commenced from the end of July and interesting and unique startup ideas will be selected by a board of jury members for administration’s support to launch them. Not only monetary help, but all kinds of logistical support will be provided to the owners of the selected ideas to begin their startups. This will be done through various ongoing government schemes that are being implemented with the vision of supporting and motivating the youth of India.
ENTHUSIASTIC RESPONSE
There has been a highly positive response from the youth of the district towards this initiative. People are coming forward with their creative and unique ideas. Mr. Verma gave an example. “One of the ideas was about a hybrid kit for two-wheelers. When a vehicle has to cover a short distance, it can be converted into an electric vehicle, and when it has to cover a long distance, it can be converted back into a vehicle run by petrol.”
FREE COACHING
Apart from this startup initiative, the district administration has also begun free coaching institutions for those youth who aspire to clear competitive exams like the UPSC but are unable to join coaching classes due to financial constraints.
STARTUP ECOSYSTEM IN INDIA
India is the third largest startup ecosystem in the world, after the US and China. Most of the startups here are tech-related. Every new day sees the birth of 2-3 tech setups.
The country now has over 61,400 startups recognised by the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), with at least 14,000 recognised during fiscal 2022, up 20 times in five years, according to the Eonomic Survey 2021-22.
A record 44 Indian startups achieved unicorn status in 2021, taking the overall tally of startup unicorns in the country to 83.
