Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry on Friday released rankings of states & union territories in Ease of doing business reformers. The Ministry ranked the states & union territories in Ease of doing business reformers ranking under the Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP). As per the official release, based on the achievers’ numbers, Kerala was the top performer, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tripura, and Uttar Pradesh. On the other hand, the ranking showed that Arunachal Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, and Puducherry were at the bottom.
During the ‘Udyog Samagam,’ Union Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that said that approvals to industries in states should be time-bound and should be easy. We are experimenting with a system whereby people should not need to come to government offices for approvals and compliances. Goyal further said that Centre and States can work together in all sectors and push towards greater employment opportunities.
While felicitating the top performers under the Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP), Piyush Goyal recognised the outstanding work of States and UTs in enhancing the Ease of Doing Business. States like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat were highlighted for their remarkable reforms in streamlining processes and providing efficient services to businesses and citizens alike.
During his address, Piyush Goyal noted that many states have shared their best practices and stated that healthy competition and collaboration is key to the nation's progress. Odisha has reformed its mines sector, UP has started promoting investment, Maharashtra is attracting FDI by improving infrastructure, Sikkim is adding value to the organic farming. Goyal said that each state should study the industry policies of other states and try to improve themselves. Rajasthan can teach other states on ways to improve their policies to make themselves more attractive to tourism, Goyal added.
The Department for Promotion of Investment and Internal Trade (DPIIT) hosted ‘Udyog Samagam’.
How the Ease of Doing Business reformers ranking was done?
As per the official release, the ministry honored multiple states and union territories for their efforts in making it easier to do business. This recognition was part of BRAP (Business Reform Action Plan) 2022. The central Government's ministry gave out awards to 17 states & Uts.
"BRAP 2022 citations were presented to 17 states, considering a wide ambit of reforms most of the states were in the aspiring category while only Gujarat came in fast movers category. Criteria for citation was- any state which has achieved top achiever category 95% above in any one reform out of a total of 25 reforms(15 BUSINESS AND 10 CITIZEN CENTRIC) which were part of BRAP 2022 were selected for citation"
These included (ranking wise)- Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Odisha, Assam, Dadra & Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Punjab, Telangana and Uttrakhand.