‘One India’ push for ease of business

The Centre is working with State governments to introduce a ‘One India’ concept, the most ambitious ‘ease of doing business’ initiative so far.

What is it all about?

The ‘one-form-one-portal’ model is aimed at attracting huge investments. Under this model, the processes will be simplified to an extent where investors will need to fill only a single e-form for investing and doing business anywhere in India.

• The proposed concept will make it easy for investors to even change plans midway and shift projects to different locations in India where it is easier to do business.

Why such a reform is necessary?

Currently, firms are mandated to complete multiple forms at the Central and State-levels, and it gets more complicated as each State has different requirements and regulations.

Background:

The reform plan is among steps aimed at helping raise India’s global ranking on the World Bank Group’s ‘Doing Business’ index — from 130 in 2016 — to the top 50 among the 189 economies featured on the list.

Way ahead:

The centre has begun talks with the states, and will soon hold discussions with the private sector and users of government services in this regard. As an initial measure, a draft ‘Common Application Form’ is being circulated among states for their feedback.