Odisha's ambitious initiative aims to nurture 5,000 startups by the year 2025.

Startup Odisha, a division of the MSME Department of the Government of Odisha, serves as the central agency for nurturing the startup and innovation landscape within the state. With a focus on fostering a comprehensive and inclusive environment for startups, the organization aims to support entrepreneurial-minded individuals, particularly youths. Omkar Rai, the Executive Chairman, highlights the objective of assisting startups and youth with entrepreneurial aspirations. He mentions that several initiatives have already begun to yield positive results. Rai, known for his instrumental role in expanding the IT/ITeS industry into tier-2 and tier-3 cities, shared insights into the agency's operations, unique selling points (USPs), and future plans during an interaction with ET Online as part of the SIDBI ET MSME Conclave in Bhubaneswar.

ET: Could you elaborate on the mission and objectives of Startup Odisha?

Omkar Rai: The primary goal of Startup Odisha is to foster the growth of the startup ecosystem within the state. Our aim is to cultivate around 5,000 startups by the year 2025. To achieve this objective, we have initiated various measures. The journey of the startup ecosystem in Odisha began with the introduction of the Odisha Startup Policy 2016, which underwent subsequent revisions.

In order to provide essential infrastructure and support, the state government established its own incubator known as O-Hub (Opportunity Hub) or Odisha Startup Hub, which covers an area of 400,000 square feet, making it one of the largest incubators in the country. Furthermore, to encourage the establishment of additional incubators across the state, we offer grants and have identified approximately 27 incubators. These initiatives include providing startup grants, which offer a monthly allowance for a year, as well as grants for product development and marketing assistance, with amounts of up to Rs 15 lakh for startups.