Stressing the need to encourage the culture of entrepreneurship and risk-taking in West Bengal, state Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta said that the government will formulate a dedicated startup policy after tabling its new industrial policy by August 15.
“The industrial policy will be tabled within August 15. The startup policy will be done later,” Dasgupta said at the inauguration of AIC Techno, West Bengal’s first Atal Incubation Centre.
Dasgupta said the traditional preference for secure government jobs in Bengal had, over the years, discouraged people from taking entrepreneurial risks.
“People do not want to take risks in Bengal because government jobs are lucrative,” he said, adding that incubation centres such as AIC Techno could help create an alternative mindset among the younger generation.
“These incubation centres will give the younger generation the courage to take risks and create something new. These will help turn youngsters to job creators from job seekers,” he said.
Dasgupta said the West Bengal government would support such initiatives in every possible way and expressed hope that more incubation centres would emerge and compete with one another, helping strengthen the state’s startup ecosystem.
He also said Bengal had managed to catch up with and incorporate some of the more advanced developments witnessed in other parts of the country.
The AIC Techno centre was inaugurated at Techno India University in the presence of NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Ashok Lahiri, Dasgupta, IIT Kharagpur Director Suman Chakraborty and Techno India Group Executive Director and Chief Innovation Officer Meghdut Roychowdhury, among others.
The centre has been established with the support of NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), a government initiative aimed at promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.
Lahiri said technology could not remain confined to inventions and that innovations must also become commercially viable and succeed in the market.
He referred to institutions such as Bengal Chemicals and Bengal Lamps, which he said had once symbolised the state’s industrial development, and stressed the need to revive that entrepreneurial legacy.
He said incubation centres should not merely provide office space and infrastructure but should function as platforms for creating successful entrepreneurs.
AIC Techno has already received nearly 200 startup applications and aims to incubate more than 500 startups over the next five years.
The centre will provide entrepreneurs with mentorship, business advisory services, access to funding and investors, product validation, market linkages, legal and intellectual property support, industry partnerships, workshops and networking opportunities.
IIT Kharagpur Director Suman Chakraborty said world-class products could not be developed through “jugaad” technology alone and stressed the importance of design engineering, quality, testing and reliable manufacturing alongside innovation.
He suggested a step-by-step roadmap, from “Inspire Bengal” to “Scale Bengal”, to strengthen the state’s startup ecosystem and help innovations grow into successful enterprises.
Roychowdhury said the centre aimed to create an ecosystem where innovative ideas could be transformed into scalable businesses by providing entrepreneurs with mentorship, infrastructure, industry partnerships and access to capital.
AIC Techno is expected to support startups at various stages, from idea validation and prototype development to market entry and business expansion, while bringing together academia, industry, investors, policymakers and innovators.
The initiative is aimed at promoting innovation-led entrepreneurship, generating employment and helping position West Bengal as one of India’s leading startup hubs.