Gujarat has come out on top in the World Bank’s first ever ranking of States on the ease of doing business in India. The states were assessed on the implementation, over a six-month period from January to June, of a 98-point reforms agenda.
BJP-governed States dominate the top ranks. Gujarat implemented 71.14 per cent of the reforms, according to the assessment. Andhra Pradesh came second with a score of 70.12 per cent. These states are followed by Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The largest recipients of foreign investments, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, are ranked eighth and twelfth with less than 50 per cent scores.
The top seven states have implemented over 50 percent of the 98-point action plan. However, no state has implemented 75 percent or more of the proposed reforms, the study found. Most of the the north-east states figure at the bottom 10 with Arunachal Pradesh faring the worst with a score of just 1.23 percent. Apart from Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Tripura and Assam, the other states in the bottom 10 are J&K, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh and Uttarakhand.
The focus of the study is on eight key areas. They are,
- The setting up of a business
- Allotment of land and obtaining construction permit
- Complying with environment procedures
- Complying with labour regulations
- Obtaining infrastructure-related utilities
- Registering and complying with tax procedures
- Carrying out inspections
- Enforcing contracts.
Points to Note
- Punjab emerged the best performer in the category ‘setting up a business’ and Maharashtra in ‘obtaining infrastructure-related utilities’.
- Madhya Pradesh topped ‘allotment of land and obtaining construction permit’ and Karnataka ‘registering and complying with tax procedures’.
- Gujarat was assessed as the best for ‘complying with environment procedures’.
- Jharkhand is the best in two categories: ‘carrying out inspections’ as well as ‘enforcing contracts’.
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