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Himalayan states such as Uttarakhand can become a source of aromatic-based startups as the geography and climate of these states allow the cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants, Union Minister of State For Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, PMO Jitendra Singh said.

The interest in medicinal plants has increased due to the Covid-19 pandemic and with the relevance of aromatic startups has also increased, he added.

Speaking at an outreach event in Uttarakhand, Singh said that the government has started the ‘Aroma Mission’ to promote the state’s potential for agritech startups in the field of aromatic plants.

Singh also added that the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) is providing comprehensive handholding from product development to marketing.

The Union Minister added that India’s youth has made the nation into a startup hub in the last eight years, but there is a need to expand the vision beyond the IT-enabled services sector and look at agritech for unleashing untapped potential.

The comments come at a time when the government is aggressively promoting startups in the country with various schemes and programmes. Even as India got its 100th unicorn last year, the government has set its eyes on getting 1,000 unicorns in the next 2-3 years. 

Many states have also been revamping their policies to promote their startup ecosystems and put their states on India’s map of startup hubs.

The most recent of such moves came from the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, where the government is looking at creating a startup ecosystem from scratch. Besides, states and UTs such as Delhi NCR, Tamil Nadu and others have also been working on their respective startup policies.

Even as half of India’s startups are in India’s Tier 2+ cities, the country’s biggest startups are still based in cities such as Bengaluru and Delhi NCR, two of India’s biggest startup hubs. 

The government has been batting for more startups from India’s Tier 2+ cities and beyond.