Packing batteries with more punch
Indian researchers are working on cells that can store more energy, last longer
Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog
NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Friday called upon States to relax regulations for sugar, alcohol beverages and tourism sectors to help improve the country’s ‘Doing Business’ ranking.
Kant said that tourism, alcohol-beverages and sugar industries have the potential to generate jobs and fuel India’s growth story.
The Government, at best, can be a facilitator, a catalyst, he said, adding that wealth creation has to be done by the private sector and there is a need to do away with all these rules and regulations.
Kant was speaking at the launch Ease of Doing Business in India report based on a case study of sugar, alcohol-beverage and tourism industries.
While pointing out that India looks to improve the ‘ease of business’ ranking to top 30 in the next two years, Kant said improvement at the State level is needed to achieve the target.
“Much of the investment, much of the decision making, much of what happens in India happens in States and therefore we need to make States easy and simple,” he explained. India ranks 77th the World Bank’s latest Doing Business report.
While acknowledging improvement by States in their rankings at the national level, he pointed out that some of the sectors are still heavily controlled by them.
“There is a massive amount of control by the States in terms of rules and regulation procedures and actually there are several sectors which are still persistent with the inspector raj,” he explained.
“A very little of digitisation has taken place in these sectors and this is critical, particularly for areas such as sugar and alco-beverages, as these are sectors where India has to grow. For tourism to grow, you need conversion of many of these sectors.”
Speaking on the sugar sector, he highlighted the Centre has taken many steps to support the segment but States have trifled with the industry. “I still feel that the State governments have dabbled with the sugar industry in a terrible way. In many-many ways, they are making it commercially non-viable. Therefore a lot of freedom is necessary, some of the issues have been pointed out in this report,” he said.
“As sugarcane industry grows and prospers, Indian economy will grow and prosper, farmers will benefit and therefore a lot of flexibility in ease of doing biz is necessary,” he added.
Abinash Verma, Director-General of Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), said there is a need to look at the sector with an open mind. He said the government forces sugar mills to buy cane at higher prices from farmers which makes Indian sugar export uncompetitive in the global market.
On the alcohol-beverages industry, Kant said the sector is poised to grow rapidly as Indians are travelling more aboard and want good quality liquor. Besides, the increase in disposable income, rising middle class and aspirations of young people will drive demand for the liquor industry.
The report ‘An Integrated Value Chain Approach for Ease of Doing Business: A Case Study of Sugar, Alco-Bev and Tourism’ done by Pahle India Foundation said these three industries together provided employment to about 8 crore people in 2018. It has recommended overhauling of state excise practices, including moving from offline systems to online, along with several other policy measures for improving Ease of Doing Business and GDPs of States.
The report recommends that in place of following the generic method of ranking, a sectoral approach should be adopted.
“This will allow the States to pick sectors that are the most important to them, and take measures to reform those on a priority basis,” the report said.
Indian researchers are working on cells that can store more energy, last longer
To fix a broken bone, doctors often harvest another bone from the patient’s body or from someone else. It ...
Superconductors from IIScScientists at IISc Bangalore have invented a device with a nanocrystal structure ...
Engineering and construction giant L&T has won a licence from the Council of Scientific & Industrial ...
Will a stock continue its current trend or will it reverse? We tell you how you can read chart patterns to ...
Most AMCs have been sending out cryptic e-mails. We tell you how to read between the lines
Slew of factors are building a good foundation for the bulls to work their way up
Traders can exit the position either at a profit of ₹15,000 or at a loss of ₹7,500
In these isolated times when people yearn for a slice of the familiar, amateur and professional chefs are ...
With strokes of quirky humour, Partha Pratim Deb uses pulp, terracotta, glass and discarded cloth to create ...
Given the events in Washington DC on January 6, this week’s quiz is all about buildings that house or housed ...
While good writing wars against the cliché, television gives it a natural home
Digital is becoming dominant media, but are companies and their ad agencies transforming fast enough to make a ...
Slow Network, promoted by journalist-lyricist Neelesh Misra, pushes rural products and experiences
How marketers can use the traditional exchange of festive wishes meaningfully
For Fortune, a brand celebrating its 20th anniversary, it was a rude shock to become the butt of social media ...
Three years after its inception, compliance with GST procedures remains a headache for exporters, job workers ...
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of companies are altering the prospects for wooden toys of ...
Aequs Aerospace to create space for large-scale manufacture of toys at Koppal
And it has every reason to smile. Covid-19 has triggered a consumer shift towards branded products as ...
Please Email the Editor