AP No 1, Telangana No 3 : Ease Of Doing Business 2019

Andhra Pradesh state has retained No.1 rank in the ‘Ease of Doing Business’. AP which stood No. 1 in 2018’s rank retained the spot for the 2019 as well. This is a big relief to YS Jagan’s administration which is facing flak from several corners including shifting of executive capital from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam.

Uttar Pradesh, governed by Yogi Adityanath, has stood at No. 2 in the Ease of Doing Business for 2019. However, Telangana which stood No. 2 in the 2018’s ranking list has slipped to 3rd rank in 2019’s list. Madhya Pradesh (4), Jharkhand (5), Chhattisgarh (6), Himachal Pradesh (7), Rajasthan (8), West Bengal (9) are in the order. New Delhi, which was in the 23rd place in 2018’s ranking, has significantly improved its position and stood at 12th rank in 2019’s list.

The commerce and industry ministry released the State Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) ranking on Saturday. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and Cabinet Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced the rankings.

State Business Reforms cover the entire lifecycle of the business and aim at reducing compliance burden on industry significantly. The parameters for rankings include areas such as construction permit, labour regulation, environmental registration, access to information, land availability and single-window system. The rankings of States and UTs are based on implementation of business reform action plan.

“The Government of India has been making efforts to streamline business regulation through a single window system, labour law reforms, reforms in Disputes Act etc. to make doing business quick and economical,” Commerce Minister Piyush Goel said.

“Covid-19 has impacted all countries but the nation will emerge stronger due to PM Modi’s call for a self reliant India. The nation will be able to play a more assertive role on the global stage,” he added. Piyush Goel remained that India is growing at a fast pace on a global level. He recalled that India has improved its global rank in World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business from 142nd rank (in 2014) to 63rd rank (in 2019).