Bhubaneswar: Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, during his one-day visit to Odisha, praised the State Government for taking important initiatives for growth of startups.

"It is truly noteworthy that the Government of Odisha has taken important initiatives in the last couple of years to create conducive ecosystem for startups in the state. As a result, it has achieved the status of ‘Top Performer’ in the State Startup ranking exercise conducted by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Government of India," the Vice President said while addressing the Summit on "Empowering Young Entrepreneurs to Create Jobs" organized by the Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST) here today.

"I am particularly happy to be here in the beautiful state of Odisha. The state is rich in minerals, metals and natural resources and has been successful in attracting investors and businesses from all over the world to its shores," Naidu said.

"In the last few years, the state has been on a path of rapid infrastructure development, constructing highways linking the far-off mineral rich districts to the ports and to the twin-cities of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar which had air and rail connectivity," he said.

At the summit, Naidu called for creating an ecosystem for entrepreneurship to thrive and encourage youth to become job creators instead of job seekers. He said that the possible way to address unemployment was to create the right ecosystem for youngsters to become entrepreneurs and set up their own businesses.

The Vice President also presented awards for achievers in rural entrepreneurship and launched BYST Entrepreneur Online Learning in Odia.