DPIIT to soon begin nationwide consultations on ease of doing business 2.0, officials say

moneycontrol.com:

The government has begun the process of preparing the blueprint of a new set of reforms necessary to improve the ease of doing business, as announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech on February 1. The next phase of reforms will specifically focus on strengthening production and easing supply chains, and have a dedicated segment focusing on 'ease of living'.

Officials said the Department for Promotion of Industries and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is planning to kick off nationwide stakeholder consultations on the issue by February-end. Subsequently, the existing government action plan to cut red tape and attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) will be revised, they added.

Before the Budget was unveiled, Moneycontrol had been the first one to report how the government was keen to infuse a fresh approach in the evaluation of ease of doing business, as the current parameters are based on the World Bank's now-discredited global index.

Improved production efficiency

Last week, Sitharaman officially called the new reforms the 'Ease of Doing Business 2.0' (EoDB 2.0) initiative in her budget speech. Sources said that while the DPIIT had overwhelmingly focussed on shorter approval timelines for industrial and civil projects and reduced compliances until now, the new avatar of the EoDB campaign is set to target improved production efficiency, in line with Make in India targets.

They added this would entail identifying necessary reforms aimed at making factory production faster, improving logistics, and strengthening value chains. EoDB 2.0 reforms would also carry forward the overall government endeavour to digitise manual processes and interventions and integrate central and state-level portals through