From innovative technology to healthcare and jewellery designing to textiles and apparel, start-ups in Odisha have been scaling new heights in recent times. Odisha as a rising star was ranked among the top performers in 2018 states' start-up ranking by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and is now enhancing its start-up ecosystem with required support offered to young entrepreneurs. The government has been actively promoting start-ups and those that are adhering to the job creation criterion under the Start-up India initiative. As many as 592 start-up ventures have been registered

through the Odisha Start-up Portal, of which 423, including 138 women-led start-ups, recognised by the start-up council.

The government has recently launched a progressive aerospace and defence manufacturing policy to capitalise on the advantages of Odisha's existing ecosystem and to attract investments in this sector. There's a lot more that the State is doing to up its development game. The Skilled in Odisha mission, for instance, was launched for skill development in the State and to attract investors. The start-up policy envisages the state becoming one of the top three start-up hubs in the country by 2020 through strategic partnerships, conducive ecosystem, investments, and policy intervention. The policy envisages the creation of world class incubation centres, funding, and supporting incentive structures at par with other states.

Recognizing the same, we have featured a list of "10 Best Start-ups in Odisha". The list comprises of innovative start-ups that are trying to disrupt the hotbed of the Indian start-up ecosystem. While the Odisha government aims to set up 1,000 start-ups in the next five years, it will be worth watching whether any of these recognised start-ups will be able to scale up to the level of existing start-up hubs like Bangalore, Kolkata, or Mumbai.