Chhattisgarh which is among 14 States with more than 90 per cent implementation of business reforms has been requested by the Centre to handhold and guide the reform process in States/UTs with less than 40 per cent implementation of reforms.
The Central Government is committed to give a helping hand to States, so that India’s business regulatory environment can be further improved, the Central Government has informed.
The 14 States have been requested to provide technical guidance and arrange workshops to ensure the implementation of reforms. This hand holding will not only hasten business reform implementation across the country, it will also help States to learn from each other, it stated.
The Central Government has been assisting all States/UTs through many ways, which include organising workshops and video conferences for better understanding of reform measures, facilitate learning from each other as well as sharing of good practices. Jharkhand has been participating in such interactions and necessary assistance and way forward has been provided by the Central Government for implementation of reforms and improving the regulatory environment of the State.
Notably, Chhattisgarh was ranked fourth among the “top five States” in the country, as per the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ ranking released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion
(DIPP), Government of India in 2015-16.
As part of the first authentic and comprehensive assessment ever undertaken in India, the State has been ranked 4th among 32 States & UTs of the country, officials stated.
Gujarat topped with a score of 71.14 per cent followed by Andhra Pradesh (70.12 per cent), Jharkhand ( 63.09 per cent), Chhattisgarh ( 62.45per cent) and Madhya Pradesh ( 62 per cent).
This was as per the detailed assessment undertaken by DIPP and validated by World Bank, covering 285 parameters, spanning across eight critical areas viz. setting up a business, allotment of land and obtaining construction permit, complying with environmental procedures, complying with labour regulations, obtaining infrastructure-related utilities, registering and complying with tax procedures, carrying out inspections and enforcing contracts.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh had congratulated all participating departments, in general and Department of Commerce & Industries in particular, for their contribution that has led to the State attaining such credible ranking.
He said, “It is a matter of great pleasure and pride to be recognized and acknowledged at the national level as one of the top five States providing congenial business environment.”
In addition to this, ‘Competitive Cost of Doing Business’ is another major offering which makes Chhattisgarh as the most preferred Investment Destination, Singh said.
The State has already signed MoUs of more than `50,000 crore of investment intent in financial year 2015-16. Investor and investment interest are at the core of all departmental initiatives and the State is fully committed to extending its support to business enterprises and make them an integrated partner in inclusive development of the State, he said.
Singh thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for having taken the visionary lead in issuing the clarion call of “Make in India”, as part of which, the “Ease of Doing Business” and the ranking therein were designed and implemented at this never-before-attempted scale.
This vision of the Prime Minister has led to a very active and healthy competition among States, so as to realise his overall vision of “Team India” acting in tandem, to achieve a consistent growth rate of more than 10 per cent for the next decade or so, the Chief Minister stated.
Congratulating the team, State Minister of Commerce and Industries Amar Agrawal said : “The current ranking is an attestation to the maximum investment intent in the country through IEM in the year 2014. Chhattisgarh firmly believes in ‘Ease of Doing Business’ and will strive to leverage ICT for process-bound implementation of the same, in due course of time.”