States' Startup Ranking 2021: Gujarat, Karnataka, And Meghalaya Become Best States Promoting Startup Ecosystem

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) organised the third edition of the States' Startup Ranking 2021 on Monday, in which Gujarat, Karnataka, and Meghalaya have been awarded as the best performing states for promoting the startup ecosystem. This year's ranking showed a significant improvement in startup culture across the country, especially in Union Territories (UTs) and smaller states. The rankings are based on the states' actions to provide a smooth startup culture for next-generation entrepreneurs.

The Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, declared the result at an event and mentioned that India currently features 70,809 startups recognised by the government. He added that the country has emerged as the third-largest startup ecosystem globally over the last five years, as in Financial Year (FY) 2017, only 726 startups were recognised by the government.

Delighted to declare the results of the States' Startup Ranking 2021.

The spirit of competitive & cooperative federalism is enabling India to emerge as one of the world's largest startup ecosystems.#Startups4NewIndia

🎥 https://t.co/RTA7Hxnh8N pic.twitter.com/4yDuL9Ugmo

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) July 4, 2022

The minister has also asked the Startup India officials to check if district-level ranking for startups can be created as it will bring more dynamism and competition to the startup culture. This year, the exercise to rank states was performed across seven reform areas divided into 26 action points. The 2021 ranking list features states categorised as the best performer, top performer, leaders, aspiring leaders, and emerging leaders based on feedback received for carrying out reforms to promote the startup ecosystem.

After a critical evaluation of major action areas, Telangana, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) emerged as the top-performing state. Whereas Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam, and Punjab have entered the third tier, claiming the 'Leaders' title in the Startups' Ranking 2021. This year, a total of 24 states and 7 Union Territories registered to be part of this exercise, reported India Today.

'Gujarat' Third Time In A Row

For the third year in a row, Gujarat has bagged the title of Best Performing state by Startup India. In the report accompanying the rankings, the initiative taken by the Student Startup and Innovation Policy Cell (SSIP) of Gujarat's education department has found special mention. The ambition of Startup India under the supervision of the Government of India (GoI) will further strengthen the country's startup ecosystem.

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