The Centre has firmed up a 295-point reform agenda for states to boost their ranking in the ease of doing business this year, listing dramatic improvement in parametres—including starting a business, electricity connections and granting clearances across various sectors—as key targets, official sources said. States have been given the target to facilitate the starting of a company in just six days, compared with an average of 26 days now, the sources told FE. Digitisation of various processes and faster clearances will be key in achieving this objective, they added. All the targets are set after extensive consultations with states.
The move is crucial, as India’s rank in “starting a business” in the World Bank’s ease of doing business index worsened four notches in the recently-released report from a year before to 155th among 190 nations. This was among the worst-performing segments last year, as the country’s ranking barely improved from the previous year to 130th. The World Bank, however, surveys just two destinations (Delhi and Mumbai, and not all states) for ranking India among other nations in ease of doing business. Nevertheless, the target of six days to start a business has been given to all, including Maharashtra and Delhi, the sources said.