Gujarat has been ranked second as the “top achiever” behind Andhra Pradesh in the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) 2020 rankings released by the Central government Thursday.
“In terms of the feedback scores, Gujarat ranks second in the country. This is a jump of eight positions from the previous rankings. Gujarat is among the only two states that have 100 per cent compliance on the implementation of the 301 reforms from DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade),” stated an official release from the state government.
While Andhra Pradesh had a feedback score of 97.89 per cent, Gujarat has 97.77 per cent. Tamil Nadu, Telengana and Haryana followed with scores of 96.97 per cent, 94.86 per cent and 93.42 per cent respectively in the rankings released by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
“The above ranking is a testament to the fact that entrepreneurship and enterprise are the DNA of this state,” the government release added.
The state government said Gujarat has remained a preferred investment destination for both foreign and domestic investors. “This is reflected in the Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) received in the state in the last 30 months (October 2019 to March 2022) which is equivalent to one-fifth of the total FDI received in the country,” stated the release.
Pointing out that the ‘Ease Of Doing Business’ rankings are based on the user feedback and focused towards on-ground implementation of reforms in the state, the state government said it has introduced a star-rating mechanism for obtaining continuous feedback from the applicants that allows the government to address the concerns of the users.
The state of Gujarat’s government attributed the rise in rankings to “minimising the burden of regulatory compliance on businesses” operating there. For instance, it said, “the state has done away with the need for shops and establishment licence renewal and has decriminalised minor offences across nine labour laws.”