EASE OF DOING BUSINESS RACE HOTS UP AMONG STATES

Ease of doing business race hots up among states

After Bihar & U'khand, Now Telangana At No. 1, Replaces Andhra

The race to decide the easiest state for doing business in India has gone down to the wire.

If the year began with Bihar in the lead, it was Uttarakhand that led the race for the past few months. Now, Telangana is on top, dethroning arch rival Andhra Pradesh. The gap between the two is just one hundredth of a percentage point. On Sunday evening, India's youngest state, Telangana, had a score of 96.98% compared to Andhra's 96.97%.

And last year's winner Gujarat, which dropped to the sixth position just 10 days ago, is now placed third with a score of 94.99% as a World Bank team goes through the last 100 steps taken by Indian states before releasing the rankings. When the rankings were released for the first time last year, states were gauged on 98 parameters for improving the regulatory framework for business. This year, they are being graded on the basis of their performance on 340 parameters -so far the most detailed exercise of its kind.

States were asked to submit the steps they had taken on performance indicators such as ushering in transparency , sing le-window clearances, availability of land, construction permit enablers and environmental registration enablers. Their submissions are still being validated and marks assigned.

“We are taking a little time in releasing the rankings because we want to be sure that the steps that states are claiming to have initiated are properly verified,“ said an officer.

The idea of releasing the rankings -which are dyna mic and available online -is to prod states to move ahead with improving business processes, often a crucial factor in investors choosing where to invest.

States have taken it very seriously , with some hiring consultants to ensure that the steps that are taken do not go waste.

Data shows that Telangana has a positive response on 321 parameters, one more than Andhra but less than Gujarat's 322. In all cases, the maximum number of reform initiatives has come on environment registration enablers. Environment and forest-related clearances were seen as the biggest stumbling block for investors, especially at the state level.

Telangana has taken 27 steps each on easing construction permit related regulations and setting up systems for single-window clearances.

 

 (toi)