Dubbed as an aspiring leader in the ease of doing business report, Odisha is pushing ahead with implementing a host of reforms to provide a hassle-free environment to industries to set up units in the state in an attempt to emerge as the manufacturing hub of the east.
In the report released today, Odisha has again shown the lead by registering an overall increase of over 40 per cent points to 92.73 per cent, an official statement here said.
“The Odisha government has always taken pride in providing a hassle-free environment for industries to set up and operate in the state. This was exemplified in the ease of doing business report for Indian states, in which the state was declared as an aspiring leader,” it said.
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have jointly topped the ease of doing business ranking, while Gujarat has slipped to the third position in the list prepared by the World Bank and the Indian government’s department of industrial policy and promotion this year.
Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana occupied the fourth, fifth and sixth slots in the index based on the degree of implementation of the government’s 340-point Business Reform Action Plan.
The Action Plan includes reforms on 58 regulatory processes, policies, practices or procedures spread across 10 reform areas spanning the lifecycle of a typical business. These are mainly single window clearance, tax reforms, labour and environment reforms, dispute resolution and construction permit.
In the 2015 index, Gujarat featured at the top, with Andhra Pradesh grabbing the second position and Telangana the 13th.
The 2016 Index shows those in the list of top 10 states providing a better climate for businesses include Jharkhand (7th), Rajasthan (8th), Uttarakhand (9th) and Maharashtra (10th).
Among other major states, Odisha occupied 11th slot, followed by Punjab, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Delhi.
Odisha has implemented a slew of reforms, including exemption of green category industries from consent management, self-certification under various labour and environmental laws, issuing certificates and licences for longer duration with provisions for auto-renewal and reduced frequency of departmental inspection based on third-party empanelled audit reports.
Over the past year, the state has undertaken a number of business reforms, which include the central inspection framework for industries and integration of business related services with eBiz online platform. These reforms were launched by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik earlier in February this year.
Another notable step was the launch of GO iPLUS, the GIS-based online land bank system for all industrial land in Odisha. The portal has been designed to enable the investors to view the entire industrial land bank available in the state, it said.
An investor has the choice to search for a land bank based on location, proximity to required utilities, connectivity through road or nearby established industries. The system also provides all required details related to existing industries in the state such as major raw materials used and finished products produced, the release said.
In May this year, the state carried out a third-party assessment to check implementation and usage of all reforms on the ground by the industries and the awareness levels among industrial units with regard to the various initiatives.
With this commitment, Odisha is poised to become truly the manufacturing hub of the east, it said.
The Odisha government in collaboration with Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) is set to organise the Make in Odisha Conclave here soon to showcase the policy and regulatory environment, investment opportunities and its manufacturing capability.
Courtesy : PTI