Ranking states on 'ease of doing biz': DIPP gets 18 responses

Key objective of DIPP's survey is to assess implementation of various factors enabling ease of doing business in a state

The process of ranking states on 'ease of doing business' will begin by the end of this month based on the responses DIPP gets from them to its questionnaire covering a wide range of parameters.

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has so far received response from 18 states including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Rajasthan.

"We are expecting that more states will send their response. If we will not get, then the DIPP will start the process. By month end we will start doing that," a senior official said.

The DIPP had circulated a set of 285 questions to all the states in this regard. The state governments had to submit the response by June 20.

The key objective of the DIPP's survey is to assess the implementation of various factors enabling ease of doing business in a state.

The move is aimed at prompting competitiveness among states to attract investments, the official said, adding that although central government departments are taking steps to improve India's ranking, the states too have to take measures in this direction.

The questionnaire includes queries on land banks available for industrial use, digitised land records at local municipality office and provision for e-filing for commercial disputes at district courts, among others.

India is currently ranked 142nd among 189 nations in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business 2015 study. With the exception of two parameters (getting credit and protecting minority investors), India does not feature in the top 100 in the remaining parameters.

The efforts aim at bringing India into the top 50 ranks in the ease of doing business in the next three years.

Improved ranking will help in attracting both domestic and foreign investments.