Maha regained 1st position in major sectors in last 2 yrs: CM

Picking holes in criteria applied for DIPP ranking that listed Maharashtra at the 10th position in ease of doing business, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said in last two years his government has managed to regain prime status for the state in all major sectors.
"We have managed to attract the largest investment by volumes in the country that is even certified by the RBI. Also, the largest employment creation and rate of conversion of MoUs of 40 per cent has taken place in Maharashtra. Again, the best innovative economy in the country is Maharashtra," Fadnavis told PTI in an interview.

He said the state holds the first position in agri marketing sector, in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, where out of the 10 top cleanest districts under the project, five are from Maharashtra.
"Our state has the highest number of gram panchayats that have become open defecation free and out of 118 towns validated by the Centre, 52 are from Maharashtra," he said.
"Also in national programmes, Maharashtra has been number one. Similar is the case with Jan Dhan Yojana and Mudra loans. In all major sectors, Maharashtra has become number one and has thus regained its lost position in the last two years," Fadnavis said.

Explaining the nuances of the reforms ranking 2015-16, conducted by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and the World Bank, he said the ranking was based on three categories - leader states, that secure above 90 per cent; aspiring leaders category that rank between 70 and 90 per cent; A category where a state needs to work harder.

"Last year, Maharashtra secured 49 per cent and we this year jumped to 92 per cent and are in leaders category now. The difference between the placement of the first 10 states is merely 4-5 per cent. So, I think this is a huge jump, from a nowhere category to leader category," he said.

Fadnavis said the government still has objections to the state's ranking as 7 points listed out have been rejected by the Centre.
Fadnavis further said that another area where the state
lost was in reforming the nagar panchayats.
"Nagar panchayats are not present in every other state and they are not urban bodies. They are bodies in transition. We have created 100 nagar panchayats in the last two years. But this point was not considered that ease of doing business cannot be immediately implemented there as they are aspiring to be urban bodies," he said.
"States like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana where there are no nagar panchayats, gained. In the next three months we will do what is required and also submit the seven rejected points. Also, to reach 100 per cent, there are 4 points to which they agreed upon, but wanted them on a digital platform. We will do that as well," Fadnavis said.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have jointly topped the ranking for best states to do business done by the World Bank and DIPP. Gujarat emerged as the third best state to do business in the country, followed by Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana in the index, based on implementation of DIPP's 340-point Business Reform Action Plan.