Doing business in India very difficult: Kejriwal

Observing that doing business in the country was very difficult, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday called upon industrialists to invest in the national capital.

Promising that all their issues would be resolved to their satisfaction, Kejriwal announced that his government would hold a business summit in Delhi soon.

Addressing the inaugural event of the two-day Bengal Global Business Summit here, Kejriwal said his government was taking steps to simplify procedural formalities required for doing business.

"The more I get deeper into governance, I realise how difficult it is to do business in the country. 'Nani yaad aa jati hai.' Don't know how you are managing. Go to any government department, without bribe no work gets done.

"The status now is such that even after giving the money, the work is not done. This has to be changed," said Kejriwal.

Kejriwal cited the moving out of the event management industry out of Delhi to buttress his point of the lack of ease in doing business.

"We have too much complicated the system. The event management industry in the last 10 years has moved out of Delhi because one needed to go around 27 government departments for permissions to organize a single event.

"Now we have simplified things. You don't have to submit affidavits, to take certificates. After talking to event industry stakeholders, we have now changed all the laws and now you can get the permission within minutes, that too online," he said.

Wooing the industrialists, he asked them to spell out the problems they faced in doing business in Delhi.

"We will soon organise a business summit in Delhi. Come and invest in Delhi. We are now simplifying the procedures, but we need more help from you.

"Please tell me what difficulties you are facing in doing business in Delhi. The time you take in telling me your problems, I can assures you, we will take less than that in resolving those," added Kejriwal.