Chhattisgarh is among 16 States which have implemented the '340-point Business Reform Action Plan 2016' to design and implement an online single window system with functionality for online application, payment and approvals, the Central Government has informed.
The 16 States/UTs implemented this reform in 2016 are- Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, it informed.
Notably, the role of Department of Heavy Industries (DHI) is confined to the administration of the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) under its administrative control.
Any centralised data on investment made in industrial sector is not maintained in DHI. Further, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry has also not reported any such data.
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has reported that Government of India has been working towards adopting international best practices and has made significant advancement over the years. Government has taken vigorous measures to make it easier to invest or to do business in India by undertaking various reforms.
Major national initiatives have been designed to facilitate investment; foster innovation and enhance skill development. The goodwill generated by the Government’s hard work and efforts has yielded an unprecedented level of interest among investors, both foreign and domestic.
A 98-Point Action Plan for improving the regulatory framework for business as part of easing the doing business in the country was shared in December 2014. Subsequently, a report titled “Assessment of State Implementation of Business Reforms” was released in September 2015 capturing the findings after taking the stock of reforms implemented by States. The assessment, first of its kind, promoted both competitive and cooperative federalism among the States and Union Territories (UTs).
The first 98-point Action Plan created a wave of regulatory improvement measures and the need to sustain the momentum of the regulatory reform; a 340-Point Business Reform Action Plan for States and Union Territories (UTs) was circulated by Government to all States/UT Governments in the year 2015-16.
In order to ensure that all information is readily available to an entrepreneur intending to set up a business, a comprehensive single window system is envisaged with an online common application form for various clearances to industry/businesses.
Various States have created a dedicated Single Window body as a one-stop online system for State level regulatory and fiscal incentive approvals. It has provisions for filing applications, payment, status tracking, online scrutiny and application approvals.
DIPP in partnership with the World Bank Group, released the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) 2017 for implementation by States/UTs on April 13, 2017.
The BRAP includes 405 recommendations for reforms on regulatory processes, policies, practices and procedures spread across 12 reform areas, that is, labour regulation enablers; contract enforcement; registering property; inspection reform enablers; single window system; land availability and allotment; construction permit enablers; environmental registration enablers; obtaining utility permits; paying taxes; access to information and transparency enablers and sector specific reforms spanning the lifecycle of a typical business.
This year there are 103 new set of reforms (out of 405) focusing on central inspection system, online land allotment system, online single window system for granting construction permits, registration under Inter State Migrant Workmen (RE&CS) Act, 1979, approval for boiler manufacturer and boiler erector etc. BRAP 2017 also includes two new sectors i.e. Healthcare and Hospitality. The last date to implement the reform is October 31, 2017.
DIPP will carry out a comprehensive business-to-government (B2G) feedback exercise this year whereby feedback will be taken from businesses on the quality of implementation of the reforms claimed by the States and UTs.
For each State/UT, the scores will be aggregated over all the surveys conducted to yield an overall score for the State/UT.
The feedback scores will be used to generate a ranking of States/UTs in terms of reform implementation.
Such a ranking will be different from the last year’s ranking, which was a ranking of de jure reforms (or reforms based on evidence submitted by States).
The online portal shall soon be enabled to allow States/UTs to upload the reforms implemented along with the evidence.