BioVoice News May 2017 Issue 12 Volume 1 | Page 21

only a single BIRAC for such an upcoming big sector, pointing towards the reality that the organization is not able to support each one of the startups due to its limitations. We must realize that there are many unseen faces who couldn’t get the funding, may be due to their own mistakes in articulation of what they do or perhaps not fulfilling the criteria. They too deserve the funding if their idea is novel. Our policymakers have now come up with the programmes such as ‘Make In India’ and ‘Startup India’ to boost the startup ecosystem in India. The Atal Innovation Mission with Rs 500 crore allocation and Rs 1000 crore Self- Employment and Talent Utilization (SETU) is Government of India’s endeavor to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship across sectors. The broader policy is fine but each one of the sectors within the bioscience sector requires individual attention. Beyond funding, from dairy industry to agriculture; the foo d industry to marine sector; from medical technology to biopharmaceuticals, only the multi-disciplinary approach to convert Figure : Of the 1022 new bioscience start-ups, 104 were formed in 2016; 367 during 2014 and 2015. Another 551 companies were established between the years 2012 and 2014. (Source: ABLE Report) the hidden seeds of innovation will work. The robust democratic feedback system, an essence of any continuously successful enterprise, must be incorporated in policy set up as well. Indian startup policymaking too will have to follow the same standards that are expected from the entrepreneurs. BIOVOICENEWS.COM 21