Bhubaneswar, Dec 20 (IANS): Odisha has been ranked as "Top Performer" in the State Startup Ranking-2018 organised by the Department of Industrial Promotion and Policy (DIPP) of the Central government, said an official statement on Thursday.

This is the first-ever ranking of states on 38 parameters relating to their respective startup ecosystem including feedback from a large number of beneficiaries.

Odisha has also been declared "Champion State" in terms of startup policy implementation, incubation hub, seeding innovation, regulatory change framework, public procurement initiative and communication, according to the statement.

As per the survey, which ranks states on the basis of developing startup ecosystem for the budding entrepreneurs, Odisha stood ahead of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Delhi.

While a total of 27 states and three Union Territories participated in the exercise, Gujarat topped the chart bagging the title of "Best Performer" state.

"We have taken multiple steps in implementing the Odisha Startup Policy 2016, which aims to place Odisha among the top three startup hubs in the country. Currently, we are one of the fastest growing startup states with over 20 startup registrations per month," said state's MSME Secretary L.N. Gupta.

Odisha recognised 334 startups within a period of just 18 months and currently has nine incubators, 12 nodal institutions and 110 mentors to support them.

Startups from Odisha are now regularly winning national and international awards while a few have catalyzed venture capital funding, said Gupta.

"Startup Odisha Initiative" is a flagship initiative of the state government which aims to support 1,000 startups by 2020, apart from making Odisha one of the best startup hubs in the country, he added.