Indian states must be ‘business-ready’
dubai — Indian states must progressively seek foreign direct investment (FDI) and ensure that doing business becomes easier to enable the third largest Asian economy to tap its full potential, a senior minister from Telangana state said on Sunday.
Addressing a conference organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (Dubai chapter), K.T. Rama Rao, Telangana state’s cabinet minister, said the need of the hour is to ensure that all states in India are “business ready.”
While the whole world is looking up to India — one of the world’s fastest growing large economies — with great interest, it is up to various states to seize emerging opportunities, Rao, who is the minister for IT, Industries & Commerce, Mines & Geology, told the gathering of more than 200 participants.
Among them were prominent NRI businessmen, including Dr B.R. Shetty, founder and non-executive chairman of NMC Healthcare and UAE Exchange Group.
The event also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Telangana government and NMC Group for up to ₹10 billion investments in pharmaceutical and other sectors in the state.
Highlighting the transparency and efficiency of Telangana, one of the newly formed states in India, Rao said over the past three-and-a-half years, the government has initiated several key policy reforms to enhance the ease of doing business.
“We launched the ‘Telangana State Industrial Project Approval and Self-Certification System’ or TS-iPass two-and-a-half years ago. It is possibly the most revolutionary industrial policy launched by any state in India. Since its launch, we have given more than 6,000 clearances for new ventures,” the minister said.
Rao said the TS-iPass enables the speedy processing of applications for the issuance of various clearances required for setting up industries at a single point. The single window clearance procedure is based on the self-certification provided by the entrepreneur. It also creates an investor-friendly environment in Telangana, said the minister.
“The TS-iPass provides deemed approvals by statute, after the lapse of the allotted time for approvals. This is the kind of benchmarking and policy making which has made Telangana the number one state for ease of doing business in India, which is as per a ranking given by the World Bank,” he added.
Our government has drawn inspiration from cities such as Dubai
K.T. Rama Rao, Telangana state’s cabinet minister
“Policy making and focused governance has led Telangana to not only achieve investments, but also create employment and help create infrastructure for our people,” Rao said.
The minister urged Indian chartered accountants — who normally guide investors in their future investment decisions and help assess the health of a state and its return on investment — to explore the investment opportunities in Telangana state.
The minister said his government drew inspiration from cities such as Dubai, which in the past 25 years has become a world-class city.
Naveen Sharma, chairman, ICAI UAE (Dubai) said that Telangana has set a high benchmark in development and ease of doing business, not only for India but also for the rest of the world.
“Telangana has done a lot in attracting FDI in India, especially in the fields of IT, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing sectors. Chartered accountants can contribute to this growth by facilitating investments in Telangana by highlighting achievements of the current government in making the state a world-class city,” said Sharma.
— issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com