Women’s Startup Mission and monthly aid for homemakers launched in Tamil Nadu
- ByStartupStory | March 21, 2023
During the presentation of the FY23-24 budget, the Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu, Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, took a notable step towards encouraging women’s entrepreneurship in the state by setting up a dedicated Startup Mission for women.
Rajan mentioned that “women entrepreneurs face difficulties in accessing timely credit and marketing their products. To address these challenges, the government will establish a dedicated Startup Mission to support women entrepreneurs in all aspects of their businesses”.
Sivarajah Ramanathan, the CEO of Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission, stated that “while the specifics are not yet confirmed, the goal is to merge existing programs with new initiatives through this mission”.
As per a study conducted by IIT-Madras, Tamil Nadu has the highest number of female entrepreneurs among all states in India.
Ramanathan highlighted that “a large number of women in Tamil Nadu operate micro-enterprises and the objective of the mission is to encourage and provide necessary support to women entrepreneurs to scale up their businesses and enhance their business strategies, with a special focus on those in the technology sector”.
Similarly, he emphasised, “Women’s involvement is critical for Tamil Nadu to reach its objective of a $1 trillion economy by 2030, which will encourage more women to engage in the startup ecosystem.”
The DMK government has fulfilled its important electoral commitment by allocating Rs 7,000 crore in the state budget to implement a monthly cash allowance of Rs 1,000 for qualified women homemakers.
The government intends to employ a data-oriented method by constructing a database that takes into account the essential economic and social requirements to recognize eligible women homemakers.
In the Budget speech, the minister emphasised that “the program would be particularly beneficial for women who lead households and have been adversely affected by the substantial hike in cooking gas prices enforced by the federal administration, as well as the overall escalation in prices”.
On September 15, which marks the birth anniversary of DMK Founder and former chief minister C N Annadurai, Chief Minister M K Stalin will inaugurate the program.
Regarding startups, the state’s Startup TN program will support indigenous incubators specialising in climate technology, rural technology, agriculture technology, and marine technology sectors to establish Centers of Excellence. The state government will cover up to 40% of the expenses associated with this initiative.
The state of Tamil Nadu, which has a significant number of business incubators in the country, intends to establish a distinct division under the Startup TN initiative to strengthen the incubator ecosystem in the state.
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