Tags:
Journalism of Courage
CHENNAI, APRIL 19: The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is to set up a Rs 100 crore national-level venture capital fund (VCF), SIDBI managing director Sailendra Narain told The Indian Express in the city. The fund would provide venture capital assistance to software firms engaged in product development, Narain added.
Besides SIDBI, the other participants in the fund will include the Department of Electronics and financial institutions. Negotiations are on with the Industrial Development Bank of India and the Industrial Finance Corporation of India. Furthermore, non-resident Indians, who may be consumers of software products, are also expected to participate.
SIDBI is also in the process of setting up a separate asset management company, Naraian said. The new firm, to be called SIDBI Venture Capital Services Limited, would have under its fold all the venture capital operations of the development bank.
Presently, at the regional level, SIDBI has set up 10 IT VCFs in collaborationwith State-level institutions. The State funds essentially cater to job-work in the software sector, Narain said. “We are looking at an incremental approach to assisting the small-scale software industry sector. The State-level funds will cater to the requirement of job-related projects, the national fund will focus on product development and innovations,” he added.
As a next step, SIDBI has plans to step up a $ 50 million VCF to assist exports and internationalise the inherent strengths of the Indian software industry. Furthermore, SIDBI is contemplating setting up a VCF for the bio-technology and food-processing sectors. The modalities of this fund are being worked out, Narian said.
As part of its efforts to promote technology in the small-scale sector, SIDBI is preparing a report on the status of the technology base of the sector. To be ready within the next five months, the report will provide an assessment vis-a-vis the international scenario and suggest measures to boost use of latest technology.The financial year 1998-98 has been declared `The Year of Technology’ by SIDBI.
SIDBI expects to finish the year with a growth of 17-18 per cent in sanctions and disbursals, Narain stated.
