DPIIT releases 301-point State Reforms Action Plan 2020
25 September 2020: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in coordination with Governments of States and Union Territories (UTs) has prepared a 301-point State Reforms Action Plan, 2020 and shared with States/UTs on 25th August, 2020, according to Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal.
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, he said that the Action Plan is spread across 24 reform areas and seeks to promote sector-specific approach so as to create an enabling business environment across various sectors in the country. The various sector includes Trade License, Healthcare, Legal Metrology, Fire License/NOC, Cinema Halls, Hospitality, Telecom, Movie Shooting and Tourism.
So far, DPIIT has released four editions of its assessment under the State Reforms Action Plan. The first assessment was released on 14th September, 2015, followed by the second and third assessments on 31st October, 2016 and 10th July, 2018. The latest assessment was released on 5th September, 2020.
DPIIT is working on improving business regulatory environment in States and UTs. The exercise involves identifying reforms which bring Ease of Doing Business (EoDB), in consultation with the States and UTs. Once identified, these reforms are compiled into an Action Plan and shared with States and UTs for its implementation in a time bound manner. Achievements made by the States and UTs are updated by them on the EODB portal(https://eodb.gov.in). Assessment of States and UTs on the basis of implementation of Action Plan is done by DPIIT.
UnionMinister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, in a written statement in the Lok Sabha said that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has increased to USD 62billion in the financial year 2018-19 as compared to USD 60.97 billion in FY2017-18.
It may be noted that earlier, United Nations agency, UNCTAD had warned that the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, lockdown measures, supply chain disruptions and economic slowdown may hamper India’s ability to attract foreign investments in 2020. However, the UN agency noted that among the nations receiving maximum FDI inflows, India improved its position from 12th in 2018 to 9th in 2019. It was also reported that India’s FDI regime is the most liberal in the world, and even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the country has attracted over USD 22 billion worth of direct investments.
