TLDR:
- India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is working to assist Indian startups in obtaining venture capital (VC) funding by acting as a mediator between them and VC investors. Around 25 startups have pitched to 13 VCs through DoT, presenting ideas in areas such as IoT, quantum communications, cybersecurity, and 5G-enabled drones.
- Deep tech startups, which focus on high-engineering areas and work with emerging technologies, face challenges in securing funding due to their longer time frame for breaking even. Additionally, India lacks the necessary ecosystem for deep tech startups, requiring them to import components and use expensive testing and certification gear not readily available in the country.
The DoT aims to grow India’s profile as a tech innovator and has taken steps to support startups, including setting up the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) and providing funding to several startups. The DoT has also established a 5G testbed and allowed startups to use government-owned labs for testing.
India has set a target of achieving a 20% market share in global mobile telecom technology manufacturing by 2047 and hopes to have at least one telecom manufacturing company in the top five global optical and network technology firms. Startups play a crucial role in India’s vision of becoming a developed nation by 2047.
