Uttar Pradesh has emerged as the best startup ecosystem in the country, a success attributed to the state government’s proactive support and attractive policies, the Minister for Electronics and Information Technology said on Wednesday of the state, Sunil Kumar Sharma, adding that this progress was in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goals. vision of a self-reliant India.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Bharat Startup Festival (Noida Edition), a flagship event organized by the Bharat Startup and Innovation Society (BSIS), to foster innovation and entrepreneurship across India, the Minister said on Wednesday, “The Prime Minister envisioned a self-reliant India, and the ‘Make in India’ initiative propelled this initiative and contributed significantly to making India ‘Atma Nirbhar’. Uttar Pradesh has the best start-up ecosystem in the country, with around 12,000 registered start-ups, of which 5,000 are women-led. Uttar Pradesh is an agriculture-based state and the state government provides all support to start-ups in agriculture, healthcare and other sectors.

The festival is part of a larger initiative, the Bharat Startup Yatra, which spans multiple cities to promote and support the startup ecosystem across the country, event organizers said.

The event aims to provide startups with a platform to connect with global industry leaders, explore business collaborations and secure funding opportunities and enable startups to engage with high net worth individuals, mentors, incubators, accelerators, investors and government representatives, facilitating valuable connections within the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The Uttar Pradesh Startup Policy, launched in 2020 and amended in 2022, aims to make the state a major hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. It aims to create 100 incubators, ensuring at least one in each district, and develop a minimum of one million square feet of incubation and acceleration space for startups.

Sharing his views on the occasion, Chief Advisor to Chief Minister Awanish Awasthi, who was also present during the event, said, “The BSIS has conceptualized the Bharat Startup Festival, a unique program that will create opportunities for startups to make themselves known and will focus on the opportunities in the startup ecosystem. The start-up sector and tourism sector in Uttar Pradesh are growing at 40%, which shows exponential growth, and the current need is to further strengthen these sectors.

The event was held at the Noida campus of Amity University and around 1,100 startups are expected to benefit from this programme.

Dr Aseem Chauhan, chancellor of Amity University, said Uttar Pradesh has the best policies to support start-ups. “At our university, students are encouraged to launch their own start-ups and Amity Innovation Incubator is one of the best incubators in the country. Amity University will spare no effort to support the government’s mission to develop the start-up ecosystem.