Chenai: The Tamil Nadu government will soon unveil a new start-up and innovation policy to encourage new startups targeting the socio-economic development of the state, Chief Minister MK Stalin said on Tuesday.

In the process, he will ensure the involvement of new entrepreneurs and young people in the economic mainstream and also work towards realizing the $1 trillion economy, he said.

“My dream is for Tamil Nadu to become the number one investment destination in South Asia. Development has been planned to ensure adequate representation of regions and districts in the state,” Stalin said at the meeting of startups and incubators from Tamil Nadu here.

“The Dravidian model of governance aims to strive towards the lofty goal of making everything accessible to everyone,” he said. Since his government came to power, six investor conclaves have been held with an investment commitment of Rs 2.20 lakh crore, he said.

Previously, the Startup and Innovation Policy was launched in 2019 by the then AIADMK government to enable the startup ecosystem and establish the state as a global hub for the sector.

The Chief Minister has launched three Tamil Nadu Regional Startup Centers in Madurai, Tirunelveli and Erode, as well as 5 Industry 4.0 Acceleration Programs in addition to the Anna University i-TNT Center here, to a cost of Rs 54.6 crore.

The i-TNT Hub is India’s first Emerging and DeepTech Innovation Network to come in an area of ​​approximately 25,000 square feet. It will function as an accelerator-incubator for startups working in DeepTechnologies.

Startup TN Accelerator is designed to propel growth-stage startups with a minimum viable product to the next stage through rigorous development, mentorship, and access to the right resources.

Under the third edition of the flagship Tamil Nadu Startup Seed Grant Fund (TANSEED), Stalin has disbursed the first tranche of Rs 1.55 crore providing Rs 5 lakh each to 31 beneficiary startups, including 18 female founders or co-founders, to the occasion.