As per the latest ranking released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPII

Gujarat and Karnataka emerged as the “best performers” in developing their start-up ecosystem for budding entrepreneurs in 2021, according to the ranking of states and Union territories released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). The ranking is based on seven broad reform areas comprising 26 actions points, including institutional support, fostering innovation, easing compliances, access to market, incubation and funding support. Meghalaya has been adjudged as the best performer among small states with less than one crore population. As many as 24 states and seven Union territories took part in the exercise, which clubbed them in five categories — best performers, top performers, leaders, aspiring leaders and emerging start-up ecosystems. West Bengal, Sikkim, Haryana and Jharkhand and Lakshadweep, however, did not participate in the exercise. Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana and Jammu and Kashmir were categorised as the top performers, while Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, and Goa were categorised as “leaders”. States and UTs that are in the “aspiring leaders” category include Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Puducherry and Nagaland. The “emerging start-up ecosystems” category included Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Mizoram and Ladakh.