Piyush Goyal Lauds Kerala’s Business Reforms, Calls for Cross-State Learning to Strengthen Economy

The Union ministry of commerce and industries has released an ‘Ease of Doing Business Reforms’ ranking under the business reforms action plan (BRAP) on Thursday. The state of Kerala emerged as a top performer, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, whereas Telangana, Punjab, and Puducherry were ranked the lowest. 

The commerce and industries minister, Piyush Goyal, chaired ‘Udyog Samagam’ on September 5 and appreciated the reforms made by Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat to streamline processes and services provided to businesses and citizens. 

He emphasised interstate learning of industrial policies to improve states’ individual performance. “Orissa has reformed its mining sector, UP has started promoting investment, Maharashtra is attracting FDI by improving infrastructure, and Sikkim is adding value to the organic farming,” said Goyal at the event. He added, Rajasthan’s tourism policies can be referred to by other states to boost tourism in their states. 

Apart from talking about the state of business, Piyush Goyal released the Regulatory Compliance Burden (RCB) booklet. The booklet highlighted the continuous efforts made by the government’s to simplify, digitalize, and eliminate outdated regulations that hinder business operations.  

He mentioned efforts made by the government to put India as a flavourable investment destination on a global scale. The minister also said that the government has created a “level playing field” for all the states and UTs to attract foreign direct investments. Goyal said if all states and UTs have a single platform for approvals and facilities, it would benefit all states in getting FDIs. 

“Over 42,000 compliances related to businesses and citizens have been reduced, including the decriminalisation of more than 3,800 provisions and the removal of redundant laws,” stated the press release.