Karnataka unveils Startup Policy 2025–30, setting the roadmap for the state’s Deep Tech decade

The Department of Electronics, IT & BT, Government of Karnataka has unveiled the Karnataka Startup Policy 2025–2030, laying out an ambitious blueprint to position the state as a global innovation and deep-tech hub over the next five years. The policy was launched as part of National Startup Month during a felicitation ceremony in Bengaluru honouring 146 Idea2PoC winners under the ELEVATE 2025 programme.

Celebrating ELEVATE 2025 winners

The event recognised 103 ELEVATE 2025 winners, 33 ELEVATE Unnati winners, and 10 ELEVATE Minorities 2025 start-ups, with a total committed grant of ₹38.85 crore. The ELEVATE programme offers a one-time grant-in-aid of up to ₹50 lakh, along with mentoring and subsidised incubation support at government-backed incubation centres to aid product development and validation.

Notably, Karnataka remains the first state in India to extend grant-in-aid support to start-ups without taking any equity, underlining a progressive and founder-friendly policy ...