BRAP 2020 report: Punjab among top 7 states in ease of doing business
Punjab has been listed among top seven best performers along with Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, according to the BRAP 2020 report released by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday.
Punjab has jumped several notches to figure among the ‘top achievers’ as per the latest Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) report, representing the performance of states and union territories in ease of doing business.
Punjab has been listed among top seven best performers along with Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, according to the BRAP 2020 report released by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday. The ease of doing business performance is adjudged by the department of promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) under the Union commerce ministry. Punjab scored more than 90% to figure among the best performers by implementing reforms across 22 departments and government agencies under the State Reforms Action Plan 2020, according to state’s director-cum-secretary, industries and commerce, Sibin C. The department has been anchoring the implementation of BRAP and other measures.
Invest Punjab Business First (IPBF) portal, online land bank, auto renewals, integrated land records and construction permits are among the key reforms undertaken to improve the business ecosystem in the state. The ‘top achiever’ position is quite a jump for Punjab which had lagged behind at number 19 in the BRAP 2019 rankings. The state’s previous best ranking was in 2016-17 when it was at number 12 and then slid to number 20 in 2017-18.
BRAP report includes 301 reform points that cover 15 business regulatory areas like access to information, single window system, labour, environment, sectoral reforms and other reforms spanning the life cycle of a typical business. Sectoral reforms were introduced for the first time in BRAP 2020 wherein 72 reforms were identified across nine sectors, namely, trade licence, healthcare, legal metrology, hospitality, fire NOC, telecom, movie shooting and tourism, the Union commerce ministry said.
