Wooing investors: UP to rank districts on 'Ease of Doing Business' matrix

Last year, the state was placed 12th; Andhra Pradesh, Telangana were placed on top

Targetting big-ticket investment by improving the business climate in Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath government has mooted district level ‘Ease of Doing Business’ rankings.

Last year, UP was ranked 12th with a score of 92.89 per cent, behind top-ranked Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Haryana. However, UP was ranked above Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Kerala.

These intra-state rankings are aimed at spurring competition among the 75 UP districts and providing a ready reference to prospective investors to make informed decision based on statistics.

While the state is targetting to become a trillion-dollar economy by 2024, the proposed district level ‘Ease of Doing Business’ rankings chart is projected as a force multiplier to this end.

After being mandated by the Adityanath government, nodal agency UP Development Systems Corporation Limited (UPDESCO) recently selected a consultant for preparing a blueprint in this regard, according to sources.

Apart from recommending a mechanism for district rankings, the consultant would also make suggestions on improving the single window clearance system, which exists yet has not become paperless in totality. At the same time, the district ‘Ease of Doing Business’ ranking would also support the flagship ‘One District, One Product’ (ODOP) scheme, which is aimed at boosting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and indigenous industries in UP.

The state government is looking at a plethora of measures to increase the MSME exports from the current level of about Rs 1.2 trillion annually to nearly Rs 2 trillion in one or two years. Meanwhile, UP has already been working for improving its ‘Ease of Doing Business’ ranking from the current 12th spot among the league of Indian states.

In his written submission to Vidhan Sabha on July 25, state industrial development minister Satish Mahana had said the roadmap to improve ‘Ease of Doing Business’ ranking was created under the template of Centre’s ‘Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) 2019’.

Under the plan, 23 state departments had implemented the ingenious process of simplifying work flows and processes to improve ‘Ease of Doing Business’ matrices.

‘Ease of Doing Business’ ranking of Indian states is the annual index of different states and union territories based on their scores under the annual BRAP. The rankings are done by World Bank in consort with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

Concurrent with ODOP scheme, the Adityanath government is working on another template of ‘One District, One Destination’ (ODOD) to encourage local level tourism in each district and to unlock their potential.

Recently, Finance Commission, which undertook a 4-day tour of UP, said the state had large untapped tourism potential for accelerating economic activities and creating jobs in the rural areas. The Commission had lauded the ODOP concept and observed it was worth replicating by other states to promote their crafts.