The
continuous development process urged for the optimum use of resources which can
be made possible through technological innovations and efficient
entrepreneurship. Rajasthan is a land of minerals and is rich in
natural resources. It is a landlocked state and enjoys access to 40 per cent
markets of India. It has a huge potential for entrepreneurship development. It
is promoting entrepreneurship and strengthening the business ecosystem for
industries and startups. Pro-business policy interventions are initiated to
increase investments. Rajasthan stood at eighth rank as per the latest Ease of
Doing Business (EoDB) indexing done by the Department for Promotion of Industry
and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in 2019 at the national level (RBI, 2020). It was
the first state in India to exempt new MSMEs from taking clearances and
approvals initially for three years.
The
total number of startups recognised by DPIIT in Rajasthan during the last five
years (2019-23) is 3800 (PIB, 2 Feb. 2024). It is categorised as a
top-performing state (second category out of five) in the Startup Ranking 2022
whereas it was under the category of aspiring leaders (fourth category out of
five) under the same ranking in the year 2021. The present research paper aims
to explain the current status of the startup ecosystem in Rajasthan and compare
it with the selected high-performing states of India. For this comparison, the
other six states- Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and
Telangana are selected based on two criteria- these states are categorised as
the best or top performers among major states having a population of more than
1 crore in Startup Ranking 2022 and they are among the top ten states having
the high numbers of recognised startups by DPIIT (2024). The paper also tries
to bring out the best practices adopted by the high performers which Rajasthan
state can adopt to improve further the startup ecosystem in the state.
