India News | Kerala CMO Releases Figures on Startups Amid Tharoor Row

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 17 (PTI) Amid an ongoing debate over the entrepreneurial growth of the state, the Chief Minister's Office on Monday released figures stating that the number of startups in Kerala has risen to 6,200 during the last eight years of administration under the LDF government.

There were only 300 startups in the state during the last UDF regime, the CMO said in a Facebook post.

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"This has increased to 6,200 in the last eight years of the LDF government. It has created 60,000 job opportunities and generated an investment of Rs 5,800 crore," the post stated.

If the built space was 15,000 square feet in 2016, it has now grown to one million square feet of incubation space, it added.

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The state government aims to create 15,000 startups and generate 100,000 jobs by 2026, the CMO said.

CM Pinarayi Vijayan's office released the figures on startups at a time when Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's recent praise of the entrepreneurial growth of the state under the left government triggered a major row and debate in the state.

While his party questioned the basis of his claims, the CPI(M) welcomed them.

Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday attacked the opposition, stating that Tharoor's article had debunked the false propaganda spread by the Congress-led UDF against Kerala.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)