Context: The Business Reform Action Plan 2018-19, released by the Department of Industrial Promotion and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, includes 180 reform points covering 12 business regulatory areas such as Access to Information, Single Window System, Labour, Environment, etc.
Analysis
- The exercise was aimed at promoting competition among states with a view to improving the business climate to attract domestic as well as foreign investments.
The top ten states under State Reform Action Plan 2019 are:
- Andhra Pradesh
- Uttar Pradesh
- Telangana
- Madhya Pradesh
- Jharkhand
- Chhattisgarh
- Himachal Pradesh
- Rajasthan
- West Bengal
- Gujarat
- Andhra Pradesh has bagged the top rank among states for the third consecutive time in the annual ease of doing business ranking of States and Union Territories.
- Registering a jump of 10 places in the rankings, Uttar Pradesh occupied the second position in 2019 as against 12th in 2018.
- Telangana slipped to the third position from second in 2018.
- Goa at 24th, Bihar at 26th, Kerala at 28th place and Tripura at 36th (ranked at the bottom) did not perform well.
- The DPIIT, in collaboration with the World Bank, conducts this annual reform exercise for all States/UTs under the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP).
- In the World Bank’s latest ‘Doing Business’ report, India has jumped 14 places to the 63rd position.
