Bengal secures 100 percent in EODB, tops DIPP list of states
29 March 2018 5:53 PM GMT
Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's claim that Bengal has emerged to be one of the favourite business destinations in the country, has once again been endorsed by the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, as it has secured 100 percent in Ease of Doing Business (EODB), for bringing reforms in regulatory processes and policies.
In a remarkable turnaround, Bengal has topped the list, along with Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) rating, whereas in the previous year, it had managed to secure a rank of 15 in the list of states.
What is shocking, is that the National Capital Territory of Delhi has scored 34.27 percent. In the list, Delhi has managed to secure a rank of 23, followed by the states that are traditionally weak, such as Jammu and Kashmir, Tripura and Nagaland, apart from some of the union territories, which are at the bottom of the list.
Interestingly, it may be mentioned here that the World Bank always considers the ease of setting up a business in Delhi and Mumbai, while giving the final score for the country.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in partnership with the World Bank Group, released the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) 2017 in April last year, for the implementation of various policies by the States and Union Territories.
Apart from the top 3, Jharkhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka make it to the list of top 10 states. Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have fallen off the top 10 list. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were the top two states in EODB ranking in the previous year.
Bengal has carried out reforms spreading across 12 reform areas, including regulatory process, policies, practices and procedures. The top five reforms implemented by the state government fall under different parameters such as access to information and transparency enablers, introducing the single window system for business, availability of land, construction permit enablers and environmental registration enablers.
During the evaluation, the DIPP reviewed how the states and union territories have fulfilled the reform parameters. It had also examined business-to-government feedback on the basis of reform evidences submitted by various state governments. Feedback was also received from businesses on the quality of implementation of the reforms by the state government.
It may be mentioned that the Mamata Banerjee government has changed the perception of the state in both the national and international arena.
What is significant is that the man days lost has now turned to absolute zero, due to the state government's stringent steps against strikes.
The DIPP under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry had carried out an evaluation throughout the country, in which Bengal has fulfilled all the parameters and thereby scored 100 percent in EODB under the category of Business Reforms Action Plan 2017.
"Our compliance is 100 percent in the EODB ranking. The state has fulfilled all the 79 criteria in this regard," said Vandana Yadav, MD of West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation.
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