Odisha Ranked 11th In Ease Of Doing Business

New Delhi: Odisha has ranked 11th position among all states in terms of Ease of Doing Business. It has slipped four places as compared to its ranking released in September 2015.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana jointly topped the ‘Ease of Doing Business Reforms Ranking 2015-16’, which was conducted by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and the World Bank.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana scored 98.78 percent each, followed by Gujarat with 98.21 percent; Chhattisgarh with 97.32 per cent and Madhya Pradesh with 97.01 per cent.

Haryana ranked sixth with 96.95 percent followed by Jharkhand with 96.57 percent; Rajasthan with 96.43 percent; Uttarakhand with 96.13 per cent and Maharashtra completed the top 10 with 92.86 per cent.

Odisha secured the 11th place with 92.73% as compared to its 7th position last year with a score of 52.12 points.

The Assessment studies the extent to which states have implemented DIPP’s 340-point Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) for States/UTs 2015-16, covering the period July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2O16. The BRAP includes recommendations for reforms on 58 regulatory processes, policies, practices or procedures spread across 10 reform areas spanning the lifecycle of a typical business.

However, a release from the state government claimed that Odisha is recognized as a “Leader” state in terms of implementation of business reforms in the country.

Over the past year, the state has undertaken a number of business reforms. Key among these reforms is the Central Inspection Framework for industries and integration of business related services with the eBiz online platform.

These reforms were launched by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik earlier in February this year.

The first-of-its-kind synchronized inspection framework institutionalized by the state ensures transparent, computerized and synchronized inspections for industries by 3 different agencies, i.e. Labour Directorate, Directorate of Factories & Boilers and Odisha State Pollution Control Board.

A portal has been designed to leverages technology for computerized risk-based selection of industries and random allocation of inspectors. The inspected industries can log in to the system and view the final inspection reports within 48 hours of completion of the inspection. This central inspection framework was showcased by DIPP as a best practice in the country during the function held on Monday for the release of state rankings.