Ease of business: DIPP set for 1st public perception survey to rank States

The Centre is ready to carry out its first public perception survey to evaluate reforms related to ease of doing business claimed by States on the basis of which they would be ranked.

The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion hopes to come out with the States’ ranking for the current year in January 2018.

“All States have time till Tuesday to submit their inputs on steps taken to improve ease of doing business in their jurisdiction. The Centre will then start its first public perception survey on what businesses feel about the reforms that governments claim to have carried out and rank States accordingly,” a government official told BusinessLine .

Last year, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh topped the charts in the ease of doing business index for States published on October 31 by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP). States were evaluated by the DIPP and World Bank on a 340-point action plan such as single window clearance, tax reforms, labour and environment reforms, dispute resolution and construction permit.

“This year things are likely to change considerably. We are no longer going to base our assessment solely on what States say they have achieved. We will approach businesses, ask them if they are satisfied with what the States have done and whether they agree with what is being claimed,” the official said.

The responses will be collected from the identified businesses mostly through questionnaires and in some cases through telephonic interviews and face-to-face interactions.

“We are very excited about the new process as it will be a true reflection of the changes taking place at the ground level,” the official said.

While the ranking of States (which is carried out and sponsored by the DIPP) is not directly linked to the World Bank’s annual exercise of ranking countries based on ease of doing business parameters, it has a bearing.

“If the spirit of competition unleashed by States’ ranking prompts them to improve their business climate, it will ultimately get reflected in how the country is perceived in terms of ease of doing business,” the official said.

In the World Bank’s latest global assessment published earlier this month, India jumped 30 notches to be ranked among the top 100 countries, out of a total of 190. The World Bank gives its ranking based on business environment in Delhi and Mumbai.

The States’ ranking this year will be based on 372 points which includes new areas such as hospitality, trade licences, weights and measures and pharmacy shops.

Last year the States that had achieved 90 per cent or more of the reforms also included Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Odisha and Punjab.

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