Uttar Pradesh is all set to join the club of country’s top ranking states with the most favourable business environment when the Central government comes out with its `Ease of doing business’ (EODB) report for the year next month. In 2016, UP, with the business reform implementation score of 84.52 percent with regard to all the parameters, stood at the 14th position in the EODB rankings.
The recent introduction of labour reforms, the lack of which is understood to be pulling it down on the EODB ladder, has brightened the state’s chances of improving its rank significantly vis-à-vis that of the last year. RFORMANCE
In 2015, UP had an implementation score of 47.37%. In 2016, the state made a marked improvement with an implementation score of 84.52%. In the ongoing assessment UP has a score 94.04% as on February 19.
“We have done a lot of things to improve various services and relaxing various regulations and hope UP to fare very well on the ease of doing business index to be released by the Centre’s department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) anytime this month or next month,” said a senior official of the industrial development department.
The main areas of assessment of EODB this year include paper-less courts/offices, online tax payment, single window system, labour law reforms, obtaining an electricity and a water connection, environmental clearances, issuance and renewal of various business licenses, digitisation of records, setting up special courts for commercial disputes, among other things.
“The indications are that UP will score more than 95% this year. What may actually help the state climb up the EoDB ladder this time is amendment to many labour laws, something which has been done for the first time since Independence’’, said the official.
“Self-certification by industries with the provision of the inspection only once a year, random inspection of 20 percent establishments selected through a software, two-year exemption from inspection to start-ups are only some of the new enabling provisions that will help create even a better business climate in the state,” he claimed. ``Though the calculations still continue, UP has already achieved 95.12 percent score this year and this is a significant jump on the EoDB index,” said the official sources.
The official said while regulations must be relaxed to do away with the inspector raj, inspections, per se, were not bad. “Inspections are also a part of training for the industries since this is during inspections that many shortcomings are pointed out to them asking them to take corrective measures.
The DIPP had begun the EoDB raking of states in 2015 as a part of its business reform action plan (BRAP) to promote competitiveness among states. Uttar Pradesh, however, wants the DIPP to introduce a grading system in place of the existing ranking system.