THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The first industrial policy of Pinarayi government will focus on ‘ease of doing business’ after the slip in rank among the list of business-friendly states. Ending the ‘Inspection Raj’ to switching to single window system for entrepreneurs and extension of licence period are included in the policy to be unveiled by January next year.  Entrepreneurs are expected to get a breather from the constant inspections by various departments, including Factories and Boilers, local bodies etc. At present, factory licences are subject to annual renewal.

The government plans to introduce a new legislation to streamline the amendments and statutes governing various departments, said Additional Chief Secretary, Industries and Power, Paul Antony. The new policy is likely to have a mechanism to make the existing industries competitive. According to industry experts, the state has the best chance to draft a comprehensive law as most of the licensing departments are under ministers from a single party. “There have to be clearly laid out rules that check the arbitrary use of powers by officials under Inspection Raj. Local bodies should use their power to close a factory only based on clear violation of laws,” said an industrialist.

NEW DELHI: The government plans to bring on a single online platform about 200 agencies that issue certificates to exporters to help them avail duty benefits at the destination or importing country, another move aimed at improving ease of doing business in India. The platform will ensure exporters are issued certificates in hours as against the current practice when they have to wait for weeks to receive a certificate. 

Depending on India’s bilateral or multilateral trade agreement, there are a host of organisations that issue certificate of origin to exporters. These certificates establish that the goods are made locally and are not third country goods routed via India to claim duty concessions from importing countries. “The plan is to have a common portal by next year so that the cost to exporter reduces and it becomes easy to verify the authenticity of a certificate of origin,” said an official aware of the development.

In a boost for the central government’s efforts to improve the ease of doing business, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) will become operational by 1 December, within six months of the related law being passed in Parliament. According to a person familiar with the development, the 10-member IBBI will begin to execute its functions—regulating insolvency professionals and agencies and information utilities under the bankruptcy code—from December.

Earlier this week, the government notified final regulations for registration and model bye-laws for insolvency professionals and agencies. The regulations will come into effect on 29 November. With this, the government will have initiated concrete measures to begin implementing the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

The Cabinet today approved a new Merchant Shipping Bill by repealing the 58-year old law, a move that will promote ease of doing business, transparency and effective delivery of services. "The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the Merchant Shipping Bill, 2016 for introducing it in Parliament," an official statement said. The Merchant Shipping Bill, 2016, is a revamped version of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958. It provides for repealing of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, as well as the Coasting Vessels Act, 1838, it added. 

The Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, had become a bulky piece of legislation over the years as a result of various amendments carried out in the Act from time to time. It was amended 17 times between 1966 and 2014, resulting in an increase in the number of sections to over 560. These provisions have been meticulously shortened to 280 sections in the Bill, the statement said. 

After falling behind states like Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in the ease of doing business ranking, Gujarat is looking to take a leaf out of their books and attract investments in the aerospace and defence sector. The state government is set to notify the new Aerospace and Defence Manufacturing Policy 2016 ahead of the eighth Vibrant Gujarat Summit to be held in January 2017.

“We are finalising policies on defence and aerospace. All facilities required for defence and aerospace will be provided to them (companies). There has been a relaxation in foreign direct investment norms for defence, and foreign companies would require connectivity. Gujarat has ports, that is a big plus point, and they can export and import from there. We are forming policies based on those strengths,” Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Ropani told BloombergQuint on the sidelines of the Vibrant Gujarat roadshow in Mumbai.

Industry associations COAI and ASSOCHAM have welcomed new uniform Right of Way (RoW) rules by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). DoT’s new uniform Right of Way (RoW) rules will be applicable across the entire country. India has more than 900 million mobile customers. The new RoW guidelines will simplify and streamline the process of RoW approvals, resulting in better connectivity, enhanced speeds, more coverage and reduction in call drops for consumers.

Manoj  Sinha, minister for Communications and JS Deepak, secretary of Telecom, were instrumental in announcing the RoW guidelines. The Indian telecom industry is expecting that RoW rules will simplify the process of site acquisition for installation of mobile towers and expedite the provision of mobile infrastructure. The rules will streamline the process of clearances for setting up mobile towers by making provisions for single-window clearance through a nodal officer in states. Receiving licenses for laying optical fiber cables will become easy.

The Commerce and Industry Ministry has started working on a new set of reforms for states that will help them improve their rankings in ease of doing business. "Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in its efforts to improve business climate in states, has started preparing the next set of business reforms for States to implement," the Ministry said in a statement today. The states will be implementing business reforms of this new framework for next year's assessment of implementation of business reforms, it said. In this regard, a workshop was organized with state government and Union Territory officials today, to brainstorm on ideas leading to the framework.

Nearly 20 states/UTs representatives participated and provided suggestions to the DIPP in the meeting. "Many states recommended a feedback mechanism from beneficiaries, which should be made an integral part of the assessment framework," it said.

NEW DELHI: All ministries will now have to set up a dedicated task force in each department to track progress on ease of doing business as part of the government’s renewed efforts to improve India’s rank in the World Bank’s Global Doing Business Report, a measure that comes after the country moved up just one spot to 130 in the latest index. A four-pronged approach proposed by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) includes holding discussions with the stakeholders and the respondents in the World Bank study on ease of doing business, officials said. 

The government wants to create awareness not just about the reforms it is undertaking but also about the World Bank report to ensure all those participating in it are aware of assumptions being made in the study and frame their responses accordingly. “We will continue to pursue this matter with all government departments…This is an important focus of this government and Prime Minister,” said a senior government official, who did not wish to be identified.