VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh has been ranked in the category A of emerging startup ecosystem in a ranking of States and Union territories by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
This can be attributed to the State government taking several praiseworthy initiatives such as building a robust portal for startups as well as fostering capacities of enablers through exposure and knowledge sessions.
Andhra Pradesh and Bihar were the two States that were ranked in category A (States/UTs with population of more than one crore) in the Emerging Startup Ecosystem, while Mizoram and Ladakh were placed in Category B (States/UTs with population of less than one crore).
AP has been evaluated across seven 'reform areas' that have a significant contribution towards propelling the startup ecosystem of the State, which has shown an “active participation in the 'capacity building of enablers' reform area'".
The State has set up five incubators in five districts to increase its outreach, and assist the startups in their entrepreneurial journey. The five incubators include Sunrise Incubation Hub at Visakhapatnam, IT Incubation Centre at Tirupati, Incubation Centres at Kakinada, Anantapur and Tadepalli.
The nodal agency for the start-up ecosystem in the State is AP Innovation Society, which is a comprehensive repository of information on the startup ecosystem of the State covering topics such as startups, coworking space general and special services, lab facilities, startup approvals, and clearances. The State has also established a helpline to assist startups with their queries and provide them with a swift resolution.
States, UTs fight it out
A total of 24 states and 7 Union Territories participated in the exercise, which ranked them under five categories -- best performers, top performers, leaders, aspiring leaders and emerging startup ecosystems.