Government departments, public sector undertakings, boards, corporations and local bodies can now procure goods and services up to ₹3 crore from registered startups in Kerala, with the government raising the limit for public procurement to ₹2 crore.
Increase in monetary limit in public procurement will enable more government departments to take advantage of innovative technology solutions from startups registered under the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM).
As per the Government Order (GO), the benefits availed by IT related startups have been extended to non-IT ventures as well, enabling PSUs, Boards, Corporations and LSGs to purchase products and services from non-IT startups registered under KSUM has been made.
Kerala has 49 parent departments and over 1,000 sub-organisations and according to GO all government organizations can buy products and services from the startup.
The government has also increased the limit for availing services and products from startups having unique ID of KSUM without tender process from ₹20 lakh to ₹50 lakh.
KSUM has launched a flagship project called ‘Government as a Marketplace’ to provide innovative services and products of startups to government departments.
KSUM CEO Anoop Ambika said early product adoption was important for startups and the government as an adopter would help startups grow faster by adopting innovative solutions.
The project head of the government as a marketplace, Varun ji, said that around 188 procurements worth a total of Rs 17 crore have been completed under the project, which has been approved by Startup India and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and has been replicated in various states. As a best practice to follow.
As per the new mandate, startups which have completed three years from the date of their registration or three years from the date of product approval by KSUM are eligible for the benefits of this scheme. Also, any startup that relocates to Kerala can take advantage of the ‘Government as a Market’ project.