Odisha is Leader in Major Reform Areas in 2nd Edition of Ranking of States on Support to Startup Ecosystems

Bhubaneswar: Odisha has emerged as the leader in major reform areas in the second edition of the Ranking of States on Support to Startup Ecosystems, the results of which has been released by Minister of Commerce & Industry and Railways Piyush Goyal today.

Odisha is a top scoring in major reform areas – Leader, Institutional Leader and Champion in Regulatory reforms in the Ranking of States on Support to Startup Ecosystems.
Odisha has also been appreciated for building a robust system to promote the development of incubators.
Odisha’s Youth Innovation Fund to support grassroots innovations and startup policy and a biotechnology policy have also been appreciated in the ranking.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has expressed his happiness over the achievement.

“Sustained effort to transform Odisha into a start-up hub under the leadership of CM @Naveen_Odisha has cemented state’s position as ‘Leader’, ‘Institutional Leader’ and ‘Regulatory Change Champion’ in #StateStartUpRankings 2019 by @DIPPGOI”

The Odisha Government has simplified the approvals and clearances process for startups with the help of an online portal (investodisha.gov.in). The portal has an interactive mechanism in a place called GO SWIFT (Single Window Clearance Portal), the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said.

Grievances are placed before a committee comprising of director of industries, OSIC (Odisha Small Industries Corporation), and DEPM (Directorate of Export Promotion and Marketing). CEO, IED (Institute of Entrepreneurship Development) acts as member convener, it added.

Keeping in the view the specific requirements of the state startup ecosystem, the government of Odisha has carried out various amendments in rules and regulations to promote the growth of startups and create a favourable regulatory environment. The major amendments and policies are:

• Odisha youth innovation fund has been proposed in the Odisha State Youth Policy (OSYP) 2013 for promoting innovative entrepreneurship among the youth/ startups of the State
• In 2018, the state introduced a self-certification scheme for startups according to which startups can self-certify compliance with the provisions of the following labour laws implemented by the state government
– The Building and Other Construction Workers Act
– The Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act
– The Payment of Gratuity Act
– The Contract Labour Act
• Aerospace Defence Manufacturing Policy 2018
– The policy provides incentives and exemptions in conjunction with any other applicable existing policy of the state government and Government of India. Any Aerospace & Defence manufacturing unit may choose to avail an incentive either from this policy or from any other policy of the state, but not both
• Biotechnology Policy 2018
– The Policy provides fiscal & non-fiscal incentives, marketing assistance for the development of the sector
• Odisha State Film Policy 2016
– The key objectives of this policy are to promote Odia films and make Odisha as a destination for film shooting
• Renewable Energy (RE) Policy 2016
– The policy facilitates the development of manufacturing units and Research & Development in the RE Sector
Institutional support envisages provisions and execution of the state’s startup policy. It focuses on establishing a nodal department for addressing queries related to startups, building an online implementation system for offering single-window solutions, and expanding the network of mentors and partners for offering guidance to state-registered startups. The states are evaluated based on the laid provisions along with parameters of offering benefits such as intellectual property rights establishing partnerships with institutions, providing special incentives for women-led startups and entrepreneurship.

Notably, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) conducted the second edition of the States’ Startup Ranking Exercise, with the key objective to foster competitiveness and propel States and Union Territories to work proactively towards uplifting the startup ecosystem. It has been implemented as a capacity development exercise to encourage mutual learning among all states and to provide support in policy formulation and implementation.

The States’ Startup Ranking Framework 2019 has 7 broad reform areas, consisting of 30 action points ranging from Institutional Support, Easing Compliances, Relaxation in Public Procurement norms, Incubation support, Seed Funding Support, Venture Funding Support, and Awareness & Outreach. To establish uniformity and ensure standardization in the ranking process, States and UTs have been divided into two groups.While UTs except Delhi and all States in North East India except Assam are placed in Category ‘Y’. All other States and UT of Delhi are in Category ‘X’.
A total of 22 States and 3 Union Territories participated in the exercise. Evaluation Committees comprising independent experts carried out a detailed assessment of responses across various parameters. Many parameters involved getting feedback from beneficiaries which was gathered through more than 60,000 calls made in 11 different languages to empathetically connect with beneficiaries to ascertain the real situation at the implementation levels.