Kerala has been chosen as the top performer for the third consecutive time in the States’ Startup Ranking, announced in New Delhi on Monday, for developing a robust start-up ecosystem on the strength of several initiatives such as the setting up of Digital Hub. Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal declared the third edition of the rankings instituted by Startup India under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Mr. Goyal presented the award to officials of Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), the State’s nodal agency for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities. KSUM Director of Funding, Evangelisation and Global Linkages Riyas P.M., Head of Business Linkages, Startup Life Cycle and IT Ashok Kurian Panjikaran and Programme Head of Government As A Marketplace Varun G. were chosen as the Startup Champions of the State.
The award Jury noted that the Kerala government has taken several praiseworthy initiatives such as developing the KSUM Digital Hub as a one-stop facility for all product design and development activities. The government has provided institutional support to start-ups through knowledge dissemination in regional languages. The State was recognised by the jury as an institutional champion, capacity-building pioneer and procurement forerunner. Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana and Jammu and Kashmir are the other States that secured the ‘Top Performer’ honour.
Commenting on the honours, KSUM CEO John M. Thomas said it is a proud moment for the State government as well as the stakeholders of the start-up ecosystem.
“The awards reflect the outstanding performances of start-ups from the State, besides the strength of our ecosystem. Apart from the initiatives of KSUM, our strong network of incubators and ecosystem enablers such accelerators, mentors, angel investors and departments are significantly contributing for the growth of start-ups,” he said.
