Punjab Government Introduces 'ESTAC' to Foster Entrepreneurship

Amarinder Singh, the Punjab Chief Minister introduced Enable Startup Track Acceleration (ESTAC) programme in order to bring in innovation and entrepreneurship in the state during the Progressive Punjab Investors Summit 2019.

The programmes aim to support scalable, investible, technology-led startups in both government and private sector businesses, said the state government.

ESTAC is a set of acceleration programmes for startups that was established to build a strategic partnership between the AIC, India School of Business, Mohali and the state government (Start-up Punjab Cell).

The first series of the ESTAC programmes aim at agri-tech startups. The other one will be based on grain procurement, e-mobility, electric metering and other innovations in the agricultural sector.

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The ESTAC will be a six-month-long programme which will begin from March 1, 2020. The ten selected startups will be given the opportunity to take part in the programme and launch pilot projects with the Punjab government. The Progressive Punjab Investors Summit 2019 was a two-day event to discuss the investment scenario in the state. The summit invites multiple opportunities for collaborations wherein experts and industrialists sit together and share their insights on market trends and the ways to address the current demands.

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The state government has been working towards making Punjab the investment destination in the country. Since 2017, it has taken multiple steps to make the state an investor-friendly place.

During the panel discussion at the summit, the UAE Ambassador said that the ease of doing business in the state is not just on paper. In fact, Punjab is one of the states that attracts the most investment in the country.