“The Government is genuinely working to create a true Single Window System which is completely digital and provides for unified and integrated business procedures. In addition, we will also encourage risk based self-regulation and third party certifications,” said Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry and Railways, speaking at the inaugural session of National Digital Conference on ‘Easing Doing Business for Atmanirbhar Bharat’ organised by CII in partnership with the Department for Promotion of Investment and Internal Trade (DPIIT) recently. He added that regulatory and policy stability is important for doing business and the Government is committed to it.
Hon’ble Minister highlighted that the confluence of ease of doing business, digitization and Atmanirbhar Bharat can truly be the defining moment for India. He stressed that Atmanirbhar Bharat is not about closing doors but opening up and greater global engagement but from a position of strength and fair practices.
Alluding to the nascent signs of recovery being visible on the horizon currently, he highlighted that our services sector has been very resilient even in the face of the duress faced due to Covid-19. Any temporary restrictions placed in the face of Covid-19 have now been removed. Government stands shoulder to shoulder with the industry for supporting them in these times of crisis. Decriminalisation of laws, removing regulatory policy hurdles are some of the measures on the anvil.
Elaborating on the Government measures for implementing factors of production reforms, Goyal remarked that Government will be soon doing a soft launch of Land Bank Portal, with six states on board, for which 5 lakh hectares of land has already been identified. This will allow online viewing of land available for industry, from their distant offices, precluding the need for frequently visiting the offices of land-owning agencies. Government is also looking for onboarding more states for helping them ease their labour laws and compliances, on the lines of what has been done in Uttar Pradesh, where industry has been exempt from select labour laws for 3 years, he further added.
“Production linked incentives are in pipeline for 12 major sectors like APIs and electronics. The Government plans to expand the horizon to as many as 20 sectors”, underlined the Hon’ble Minister. He urged the industry to identify areas where policy stability is necessary for domestic industry and foreign investors. “Regulatory certainty and policy stability are very critical for businesses”, he added. Responding to industry’s suggestion for broadening the Business Reform Action Plan to include factors such as access to finance, Goyal mentioned that improving the availability of long-term finance for the industry is one of the steps being taken by the Government to promote investments.
Earlier welcoming the Hon’ble Minister, T V Narendran, President-Designate, Confederation of Indian Industry, among other things, highlighted the plight of MSMEs which need a special helping hand in the present situation. He suggested MSMEs to be exempted from approvals and inspections for 3 years under State laws while following all rules. “Self-certification route can be used for renewal and approvals for MSME with good track record,” he added.
Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, commended the commitment of the government for establishing India as a global manufacturing hub through a slew of reforms and ensuring continuity in supply chains and smooth business operations, even as Government effectively combated the coronavirus pandemic.
Piruz Khambatta, Chairman, CII Task Force on Ease of Doing Business, in his closing remarks, stressed that instead of Tax Holidays, Paper-Work Holidays should be the norm for new entrepreneurs.
The one-day virtual conference saw an active participation from more than a thousand relevant stakeholders deliberating on issues pertaining to ease of doing business, including the areas where expedited action is required from the Government.