Telangana top performer in creating StartUp ecosystem: Centre

Hyderabad: Telangana, which is home to the world's largest incubator, has been adjudged as the 'Top Performer' for developing a strong start up ecosystem in the State, by the Central Government. The Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry released the States Startup Ranking 2021 on Monday.

The ranking list was released by Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal in New Delhi. States Startups ranking include identifying good practices, augmenting mutual learning, building capacity of key stakeholders across the Indian Startup.

It also promotes States to take up advanced ecosystems within their limits. Listing out the key highlights of the State, the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade said Telangana government has taken several praiseworthy initiatives, including launch of the Research and Innovation Circle Hyderabad (RICH) incubator to boost science, research, and innovation through a collaborative environment.

It has also set up the Telangana Innovation Fund (T-Fund) – an early stage investing vehicle formed in collaboration with leading global investors and devising the Grass root Innovation Framework to promote inclusive and sustainable growth in the startup ecosystem to develop bottom-up solutions. Telangana is now recognised as an Institutional Champion, a Capacity Building Pioneer, an Incubation Hub and an Innovative Leader.

Apart from Telangana, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir have been recognized as the 'Top Performers' among the 31 participating entities, including 24 States and seven Union territories. The entities have been ranked under five categories, including best performers, top performers, leaders, aspiring leaders and emerging startup ecosystems.

Telangana has a robust startup ecosystem and startups are empowered through institutional support, incubation support, and capacity building of entrepreneurs.

The State has an established network of more than 3000 startups. Telangana is a manufacturing hub, ranking fourth in performance in the India Innovation Index report released by NITI Aayog under the major States category. Three startups from Telangana have won the National Startup Awards 2020.