Incremental innovation will spur GSDP, says KTR at T-Hub’s 7th anniversary
Incremental innovation holds the key to the growth of the State's economy, IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao said
Updated On - 5 November 2022, 08:38 PM
Hyderabad: Incremental innovation holds the key to the growth of the State’s economy, IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao said, pointing out that a growth of another four percent of the State’s economy would translate into the GSDP of Telangana touching Rs.30 lakh crore in about four to five years.
Speaking at the seventh anniversary celebrations of startup incubator T-Hub here on Saturday, the Minister said GSDP was now pegged at Rs.11.55 lakh crore. This was about Rs 5.06 lakh crore in 2014 and has been growing around 11 percent to reach the current GSDP. If the State’s economy could grow by another four percent, the GSDP would touch Rs 30 lakh crore in four to five years, for which incremental innovation was the key, he said.
T-Hub had successfully created a platform for the startup community that is being replicated by many States. Goa has already signed a memorandum of understanding to set up a similar facility there and the work is under progress.
Eight other States too have evinced interest to create a facility like T-Hub in their respective States, the Minister said, pointing out that T-Hub focused on mentorship, money, market access, motivation, mindset, manpower, partnerships and policy advisory. The current facility can support over 2,000 startups under one roof, with a total built-up area of 5,82,689 square feet, making it the world’s largest innovation campus. It has seen an investment of about Rs 400 crore.
T-Hub in the past seven years impacted about 2,000 startups, worked with more than 600 corporate partners and has more than 100 mentors. About $ 1.9 billion (about Rs 15,400 crore) have been raised in funding by T-Hub cohort startups. “Efforts now should be to make Hyderabad the go-to place for all things startups. bHyderabad should be an equivalent to Silicon Valley,” Rama Rao said about the scale-up plans needed. He stressed on sustainability, employment creation, solving societal problems and being able to assist in governance issues.
Reiterating the support from the State government to the startups, Rama Rao said the Government would be the first customer for products and services that come from startups in Telangana. “Reach out to us with a proof of concept,” he said.
“It is a pleasure to be at T-Hub. I take great pride in its success. It is like seeing the kid growing,” said Rama Rao, going nostalgic about how the idea of T-hub happened. Soon after the State formation in June 2014, multiple meetings were held with various stakeholders to understand why Hyderabad was not mentioned on the same lines as Bengaluru when it came to startups.
“We wanted to bring that X factor that was missing in the startup ecosystem. We decided to set it up at IIIT-H as the building was ready. We did the interiors and the facility was readied. We launched T-Hub in November 2015 and it immediately spurred interesting discussions among all stakeholders. Many saw how the State government can drive an initiative and be an enabler apart from providing the policy support. We put together a team comprising Government officials, industry and academia professionals. T-Hub shaped up well. At 7, we should say we have reached the base camp and there is the entire Everest to conquer before us,” Rama Rao said after presenting awards to select startups across categories.
“To build a more prosperous and equitable economy in India, our entrepreneur community will need all the empowerment to grow faster and create more jobs. T-Hub in Telangana State has proved to be an example of how and why India can stay strong in the game of global level startup innovation and incubation hubs,” Industries and IT Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan said.
“T-Hub has been committed to creating an ecosystem that fosters entrepreneurship and innovation. Our innovation ecosystem has helped founders overcome entrepreneurial challenges while providing a network of experienced mentors, funding avenues, market access and networking opportunities. We will continue to support India’s growing entrepreneurship culture,” T-Hub CEO M Srinivas Rao said.