Five States Have Undertaken Stipulated Reforms In 'Ease of Doing Business'

Linking the grant of additional borrowing permissions by the Government of India (GoI) to the States, to reforms in various citizen-centric sectors has motivated the states to undertake reforms to promote Ease of Doing Business, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Five states have so far completed the stipulated reforms in the Ease of Doing Business. These states have been granted permission to mobilize additional financial resources to the tune of ₹ 16,728 crore through open market borrowings, according to an official release. These states are Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.

The Ease of Doing Business is an important indicator of the investment-friendly business climate in the country. Improvements in the ease of doing business will enable faster future growth of the state economy. Therefore, the government of India had in May 2020, decided to link the grant of additional borrowing permissions to states who undertake the reforms to facilitate ease of doing business.

The reforms stipulated in this category are–Completion of the first assessment of ”District Level Business Reform Action Plan, elimination of the requirements for renewal of registration certificates/approvals/licences obtained by businesses for various activities at least under the following Acts–The Shops & Establishment Act, The Contracts Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, The Factories Act, 1948, The Legal Metrology Act, The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (RE&CS) Act, 1979, Drug Manufacturing/ Selling/ Storage License, Trade License issued by the Municipal Corporations.

Moreover, implementation of computerized central random inspection system under the Acts wherein allocation of inspectors is done centrally, the same inspector is not assigned to a unit in subsequent years, prior inspection notice is provided to the business owner, and the inspection report is uploaded within 48 hours of the inspection.