On 31 October 2016, India’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in partnership with the World Bank Group, released the 2015–2016 Assessment of State Implementation of Business Reforms.
The results rank and score India’s 32 states and union territories based on their implementation of 7,124 reforms from a 340 point Business Reform Action Plan covering 1 July 2015–30 June 2016.
These submissions were reviewed by the bank’s team and validated by the DIPP on a real-time basis. The states were ranked on six key reform areas, including single-window systems, tax reforms, construction permits, environment and labor reforms, inspection reforms and paperless courts for commercial disputes.
This year the average rate of implementation has been 48.93 per cent, an increase from last year’s rate of 32 per cent. 16 states implemented more than 75 per cent of the reforms, a significant increase on last year when not a single state achieved this result. While the assessment shows that states have progressed in making it easier to do business, there are a few interesting things to note.