For developing a strong startup ecosystem for the second consecutive year, Kerala has bagged the “Top Performer” honour in the annual States’ Startup Ranking 2019. It was announced by the Government of India on Friday, recognizing the state as a leader across all pillars of startup ecosystem.

Last year there are only two states to receive the honour this year, neighbouring Karnataka being the other. This year four states were adjudged as the Top performers.

The ranking was declared in the presence of Hon’ble Minister of Railways and Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal; Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Civil Aviation, Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep Singh Puri; and Hon’ble Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Shri Som Parkash.

The States’ Startup Ranking Framework 2019, prepared by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, recognized Electronics and Information Technology Department of Government of Kerala as an institutional leader, regulatory change champion, procurement leader, incubation hub, seeding innovation leader, and scaling innovations leader.

Kerala has taken several exemplary initiatives in establishing institutional support for women-led startups, including pre-incubation support, special subsidies and seed funding.

Kerala’s initiatives like robust venture funding mechanism for startups are being implemented through the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), the nodal agency for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.

The occasion noted, “Kerala and Karnataka have displayed visionary leadership and taken strategic initiatives to strengthen innovative entrepreneurship of the ecosystem. These states have exhibited unwavering commitment to the growth of start-up ecosystem by taking dedicated and focussed initiatives across all pillars of start-ups ranking exercise.”

It also recognised Dr Saji Gopinath, CEO Kerala Startup Mission and Shri Ashok Kurian Panjikaran, Head, Business Development of KSUM, as “Startup Champions of the State.”

Dr Saji Gopinath said, "This recognition for the second consecutive year will encourage more young entrepreneurs to make use of the robust startup ecosystem in the state."

The States’ Startup Ranking Framework 2019 was done across seven specific dimensions: Institutional Support, Easing Compliances, Relaxation in Public Procurement norms, Incubation Support, Seed Funding Support, Venture Funding Support, and Awareness and Outreach.

Capacity building being the key objective of the exercise, with spirit of entrepreneurship in the Indian Startup Ecosytem as the another objective, the ‘State/UT Startup Ranking Framework’ 2019 is spread across seven areas of intervention with a total of 30 action points, as compared to the 38 action points in the Previous Year State Ranking Framework. The framework provides the guidelines to support implementation of action points along with good practices against each action point.

The State Ranking Framework aims to evaluate States/UTs in a balanced and transparent manner and has thus made documentary evidence of compliance on action points by the State/UT Government a pre- requisite for collection of feedback. Scoring was then done on the basis of the feedback received.