Contradicting the Devendra Fadnavis government’s claim of promoting a business-friendly environment to make Maharashtra the startup capital, the State has ranked in the bottom half of the Central government’s State startup Ranking Report, 2018. The report says that Gujarat, which claimed the top spot, should mentor Maharashtra.

Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Monday said the report released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) exposes the hollow announcements made by the government. “Of 38 indicators studied in this report, the Maharashtra government has failed to submit information about 17. The State stands in the range of 25-50 percentile. This shows the lacklustre attitude of the government towards industries and employment generation,” Mr. Chavan said.

Andhra Pradesh was the first State in the country to announce a startup policy in 2014, following directions from the Centre to all States. While other States followed suit subsequently, Maharashtra announced its startup policy only in 2018.

“Maharashtra’s industrial growth rate is falling continuously, from 7.2% in 2015-16 to 6.5% in 2017-18. Its ease-of-doing-business rank has come down from eight in 2015 to 13 in 2018. Mere dependence on advertising, lack of foresight, and infighting between ruling parties is resulting in the downfall of Maharashtra’s industrial sector,” Mr. Chavan said.

State Finance and Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, however, said Mr. Chavan was trying to score political points. “The report says that out of 14,036 startups in the country, 2,787 are in Maharashtra, the highest. The ranking is based on evaluation done till May 2018, while the State announced its policy in February 2018. That is why Maharashtra has been placed in the emerging category,” the minister said.

Mr. Chavan said it is natural for Maharashtra to have the most startups, as Mumbai is the country’s financial capital. “But the report shows the State has failed to provide an environment to boost the growth of these startups. The government, instead of making such claims, should concentrate on finding out the shortcomings of its startup policy.”