The Maharashtra government says it disagrees with the World Bank report ranking the state at eighth place in the ‘ease of doing business’ index.
It proposes to request the Centre to recommend a re-assessment to the Bank.
State industries minister Subhash Desai told Business Standard: “The observations are based on old information. (This) government has taken a number of reforms, including amendments to the Factories Act, reduction in the number of approvals from 76 to 37, doing away with inspector raj and relaxation in River Regulatory Zone Regulations.”
The government, he added, had issued about 40 circulars to reduce red tape for investors. Maharashtra has attracted ‘investment intention’ of over Rs 60,000 crore since October 31 when the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena government took over, he said.
“After the Bank takes into account the recent initiatives, Maharashtra will be ranked third,” he added. “Some more reforms are in the pipeline, which, once implemented, will see Maharashtra ranked at first position next year.”