Odisha slipped to the ‘aspiring leader’ category in the latest DPIIT States’ Startup Ranking, after being a top performer in the previous edition
OdishaPlus Bureau
Odisha has fallen to the ‘aspiring leader’ category in the fifth edition of the States’ Startup Ranking, which was released on Friday. The ranking, conducted by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), had previously positioned the state in the ‘top performer’ category in the last edition (2022).
According to the latest ranking, Odisha is now grouped with Assam, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, Tripura, and Mizoram. The list is led by Gujarat, which includes three states classified as ‘best performers’, five as ‘top performers’, and eleven in the ‘leader’ category, all of which are ranked higher than Odisha’s ‘aspiring leader’ segment.
In the fourth edition, only Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Himachal Pradesh were ranked above Odisha. This latest ranking represents Odisha’s lowest position since the exercise began. In the 2021 edition, the state was among the five top-performing states, while in 2019 it was listed among the top five leading states. In the inaugural 2018 ranking, Odisha was included among the four top-performing states.
State officials have attributed this decline to a delay in providing necessary data to DPIIT, asserting that it does not indicate any significant deterioration of the startup ecosystem. Prasanth Kumar Reddy, Secretary of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises and Chairman of Startup Odisha, stated, “We will analyze the reasons for the drop in ranking and take appropriate measures to address any obstacles that may exist.”