The Kerala government has raised from Rs 1 crore to Rs 3 crore the public procurement ceiling on purchase of products and services from ventures registered under Kerala Startup Mission by government departments, public sector undertakings, boards, corporations and local self-government (LSG) institutions.

This is expected to enable more government departments — including agriculture, LSG, health, tourism, among others — to leverage innovative technology solutions from startups.

As per the government order, the benefits enjoyed 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.

Kerala has 49 parent departments and more than 1,000 sub-organisations.

The government has also increased the ceiling for procuring services and products without tender from the registered startupsto Rs 50 lakh from Rs 20 lakh.

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In this regard, the Stores Purchase Department and the Electronics and Information Technology Department have issued terms and conditions along with guidelines for the procurement.

KSUM has launched a flagship project called ‘Government as a marketplace’ for supplying innovative services and products of startups to government departments.

Anoop Ambika, CEO of KSUM, said early product adoption is always critical for startups to scale up, and the government as an adopter helps startups grow exponentially while adopting innovative solutions.

Project head of ‘Government as a marketplace’ Varun G said around 188 procurements worth Rs 17 crore have been recorded so far. This project has also been approved by Startup India and Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and replicated in various states as best practices.

Around 107 government departments are beneficiaries of the ‘Government as a marketplace’ project. Also, world-class startups like Genrobotics and Bagmo have developed innovative solutions through this project.

The government has also issued guidelines for departments on obtaining products and services from startups through projects like Market Placement Scheme, Demand Day, Demo Day, and Direct Procurement and Innovation Zone.

As per the new GO, startups that have completed three years since registration or the date of product approval by KSUM are eligible for the scheme. Also, any startup that relocates to Kerala can access the benefits of the ‘Government as a market place’ project.