Andhra tops ease of doing business rankings

REGISTERING A JUMP OF 10 PLACES, UTTAR PRADESH OCCUPIED THE SECOND POSITION IN 2019 AS AGAINST THE 12TH IN 2018

NEW DELHI/HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh has bagged the top rank among states for the third consecutive time in the annual ease of doing business ranking of states and Union Territories.

The rankings — based on the implementation of the Business Reforms Action Plan 2019 — were announced by the Department of Industrial Promotion and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in a video-conference chaired by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal, too, was present on the occasion.

Andhra industries minister Mekapati Gautam Reddy said these rankings were a testimony to the investor-friendly commitment of the state.

Registering a jump of 10 places in the rankings, Uttar Pradesh occupied the second position in 2019 as against 12th in 2018. Telangana slipped to the third position from second in 2018. It was followed by Madhya Pradesh (4th), Jharkhand (5th), Chhattisgarh (6th), Himachal Pradesh (7th), Rajasthan (8th), West Bengal (9th) and Gujarat (10th). Delhi’s position improved to 12th from 23rd in the last edition, while Gujarat slipped from 5th place in 2018. Among the laggards, Assam stood at 20th, J&K at 21st, Goa at 24th, Bihar at 26th and Kerala 28th place. Tripura was ranked at the bottom, 36th.

Releasing the report, Sitharaman

said states had taken the exercise in its true sense and it would help states and UTS to become better place to do business. “Some states have shown extraordinary energy in putting together action plans and making sure that reforms happen. States have embraced the true spirit behind the State Business Reforms Action Plan,” she said.

Goyal said these rankings reflected the efforts that states and UTS were making to better their systems and processes. It is also a wake-up call for those states which have slipped in the ranking, he said.

Goyal said the ministry was working on steps such as creating a single-window system for approvals and clearances.

In the 2015 index — when it was first released — Gujarat featured at the top, with Andhra Pradesh grabbing the second position and Telangana 13th. In 2016, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana jointly topped the chart. In the July 2018 ranking, Andhra Pradesh topped the chart, followed by Telangana and Haryana (3rd). Haryana slipped to 16th position in latest ranking.

In the World Bank’s latest ‘Doing Business’ report, India has jumped 14 places to the 63rd position.