Budget 2021 sops may supercharge campus startups, say experts

New Delhi: The incentives announced for the startup sector in Union Budget 2021-22 are likely to accelerate entrepreneurial activity in the campuses of the country’s premier engineering and management institutes and could lead to a jump in the number of startups emerging from them.

Directors at the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) told ET that more startups, especially in the areas of health, infrastructure, R&D and skilling, could surface this year. Most founders of startups (most of which are unicorns), such as Flipkart, Snapdeal, Oyo Hotels & Homes, Zomato and Upgrad, are alumni of the IITs and (or) the IIMs. Venture capital firm IvyCap Ventures, which largely focuses on funding startups from the IIMs and IITs, said the entrepreneur-friendly sops could lead to a doubling of the number of startups at these campuses in a year’s time, from around 2,000 now.