Startup ecosystem in UTs, NE states: J&K emerges as top performer

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir has emerged as a top performer in developing a startup ecosystem for budding entrepreneurs, according to the ranking of states and Union territories by the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT).

As per the ranking, J&K is the top performer among UTs and North Eastern States.

   

With a booming young population in Jammu and Kashmir, startups are required to provide the jobs that are lacking in the market.

The CMIE study states that J&K has an unemployment rate of 18 percent, which is higher than the national average. Authorities have often emphasised that while self-employment is the cure for the problem of rising unemployment, government employment is not the answer.

In this regard, the Jammu and Kashmir government released a thorough startup policy in 2018 with the goal of supporting and nurturing the establishment of at least 500 new start-ups in J&K over the course of the following ten years. In the past four years, 84 startups have been established in J&K.

The results of the third edition of Ranking of States on Support to Startup Ecosystems were released by Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Textiles today.

For the purposes of the Ranking, States and Union Territories are classified into 5 categories, viz. Best Performers, Top Performers, Leaders, Aspiring Leaders and Emerging Start-up Ecosystems.

Among smaller states having populations of less than one crore, Meghalaya has been adjudged as the best performer.

The rankings are based on the initiatives taken to develop the startup ecosystem for promoting budding entrepreneurs.

For the third time in a row, Gujarat was ranked as the best performer.

The exercise is aimed at supporting states and Union territories (UTs) in developing their startup ecosystem and learning from each other’s best practices.

A total of 24 states and 7 UTs participated in the exercise, which ranked them under five categories — best performers, top performers, leaders, aspiring leaders and emerging startup ecosystems.

The states and UTs were also ranked under these five categories based on the population of less than one crore.

Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana and Jammu and Kashmir were categorised as the top performers.

Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, and Goa are in the leaders category.

States and UTs in the aspiring leaders’ category include Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Puducherry and Nagaland.

According to the ranking, the emerging startup ecosystems category includes Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Mizoram and Ladakh.

They were evaluated across seven reform areas consisting of 26 action points, ranging from institutional support, fostering innovation, access to market, incubation and funding support.

Speaking after declaring the awards, Piyush Goyal said that ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) had the power to spawn thousands of start-ups.

“The huge success that UPI has been in India, which has democratised the payment system in India. In the next 5 years, we will have ONDC democratize e-commerce across India. So much so that we will have a few thousand start-ups may be more and a few hundred unicorns. Rather than three companies being 100 billion or one trillion size, you will have a thousand companies each of a billion-dollar. That is what ONDC has the power to do,” the Minister said.

Anurag Jain, Secretary, DPIIT said that a number of initiatives of the government including JAM (Jandhan, Aadhar, Mobile), Digital India, Gatishakti, Ease of Doing Business were driving the start-up ecosystem. “If the Start-up system has to grow further, the biggest role has to be played by States. We can play a facilitative role,” he added.

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