DPIIT Starts Exercise Of Ranking States/UTs On Ease Of Doing Business

SUMMARY

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has begun the process of ranking states/UTs on the basis of ease of doing business

The rankings would be released by March 2021

In the rankings released for last year, Andhra Pradesh topped the list for the third time in a row, followed by Uttar Pradesh

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has begun the exercise of ranking states and union territories (UTs) on the basis of ease of doing business (EoDB) for next year, a top government official told PTI.

The rankings would be released by March 2021. Last year, the department identified 181 reform points and for 2021, it has shared 301 such points with the states and UTs.

“We have started the exercise already. We have communicated the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) for next year with the states/UTs, which they have to implement,” he told PTI.

In the rankings released by the DPIIT for 2019, Andhra Pradesh topped the list for the third time in a row, while Uttar Pradesh jumped 10 places to come second. The rankings are based on the implementation of the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) by states and UTs.

The state-wise ranking for EoDB was started in 2015. The exercise has assumed a lot of importance over the years, as India has consistently been improving its global rank. While in 2014, India was ranked 142nd out of 190 countries in terms of its ease of doing business, a ranking released by the World Bank, it improved its position to gain the 77th spot in the rankings last year. This year, India climbed up to the 63rd position in the rankings.

The World Bank has attributed India’s improvement in the EoDB rankings, to the reforms initiated in the country for simplifying processes such as starting a business, dealing with construction permits, resolving insolvency and trading across borders. Notably, India is among the best performers on the ease of doing business along with China, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Togo and Nigeria among others.

Last month, Inc42 reported that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs was in talks with the DPIIT, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), to discuss the possibility of creating a single online platform for compliance forms with common data sources.

The objective of the proposed move is to bring down duplication of filing and integrate databases of MCA with other concerned ministries. This is expected to enhance EoDB for the companies.