DIPP to rank states on 'ease of doing business'

The Centre will soon come out with a list of states ranked on the basis of ease of doing business, DIPP secretary Amitabh Kant said today.
"We are trying to build a spirit of competition on ease of doing business among the states. States are now competing among themselves to attract investors to their states. This is a positive sign. Investors must know which are the best and worst performing states," Kant said at a Indian Chamber of Commerce meet here.
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has received responses from all the state governments and a study is currently on to evaluate and rank the business-friendliness of the states, he said.

The ranking would be an annual exercise, he said.
"All the states have given us reports on what actions have been taken by them for ease of doing business. This is being evaluated by both commerce and industry ministry and the World Bank jointly. I think by the end of August we will have the ranking of the states in terms of the best performing states and the worst performing states, Kant said.
Regarding acquisition of land for setting up industrial units, he said every state government would have to find innovative solutions for the purpose and should ensure that farmers become a part of the development process.

"After issuing the land acquisition notifications, the government-appointed committees can negotiate with the farmers to arrive at a right land price," he added.