Increase in venture capital for Bengal IT start-ups

Kolkata, Aug 8 (IANS) West Bengal's new IT policy would feature an increase in the corpus of venture capital provided to IT start-ups, a minister said Wednesday.

"The new IT policy will see an increase in the corpus of venture capital provided to IT start-ups," Information Technology Minister Partha Chatterjee told mediapersons on the sidelines of a programme here.

"The new policy will be presented before the cabinet for clearance by August end," Chatterjee said.

Now, the IT start-ups are provided a venture capital fund of Rs.10 lakh. However, Chatterjee did not specify the extent of the increase.

The minister said the state wanted to rope in quality businesses, like knowledge process outsourcing and analytics.

"I have already held informal parleys with a leading consultancy firm for undertaking analytics work," he said.

Earlier, addressing businessmen at the ICT East, an annual IT conclave organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Chatterjee urged them to come to the government with proposals.

"You are a stakeholder in the state's development and without you we cannot carry out development. We will look into all proposals if you come to us," he said.