Odisha Declared as Top Performer in State Start-up Ranking 2021 by DPIIT

Commenting upon the occasion, Dr. Omkar Rai, Executive Chairman of Startup Odisha said, "It is an honor to be declared as the top performers in state start-up ranking 2021 by DPIIT. I would like to extend my humble gratitude to DPIIT for this recognition. Since its inception, Start-up Odisha has been a home to the best entrepreneurial minds & has already supported and facilitated more than 1300 start-ups. Start-up Odisha's vision is to create a conducive environment for start-ups, empower them to grow through innovation and design, create a world-class scientific ecosystem and enable the youth to pursue their dreams."

He further added, "This recognition is a testament of how Odisha has come a long way and has grown by leaps and bounds and the flourisng startup ecosystem has further added on to the growth of the state."

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) conducted the 3rd edition of the States' Start-up Ranking Exercise with the key objective to strengthen the support of States and UTs to holistically build their startup ecosystems. Startup Ranking Framework 2021 has been developed as a more robust and outcome-oriented exercise and aims to achieve large scale progress across each State and UT. In order to encourage states and union territories to work toward reducing regulations for the expansion of start-ups and strengthening support for the start-up ecosystem, the exercise was launched in 2018. Odisha was awarded the "Leader State" on support to Startup Ecosystem released by Shri Piyush Goyal in 2019.

Odisha has come a long way from being a food deficient state to a surplus state, strengthening livelihoods and food security with a focus on marginalized communities and women. Recently, MSME Department of Odisha was awarded the first rank by Government of India for its exemplary efforts to streamline the MSMEs in the economic scenario. It has also transformed from agriculture economy to Industry-driven economy. It has also made remarkable achievements in Mission Shakti, 5T, Mo Sarkar, School Transformation, and Startup Odisha, Odisha has become the face of development in innovation.

The state is scouting new talents from across the nation to represent the various sectors. Shri. Subroto Bagchi is Chairman of Odisha Skill Development Authority and has been a renowned entrepreneur and business leader. Recently, Startup Odisha was in news for the appointment of technocrat, Former DG of Software Technology Parks in India, Dr. Omkar Rai as its Executive Chairman. Dr. Rai is the turnaround man of STPI who has been responsible for bringing software development at the centre stage in the IT Industry.