Kerala has made tremendous gains in the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB ) index, a World Bank initiative of ranking states and Union Territories based on the business environment. The state has jumped to 15th rank in EoDB as per the State Business Reform Action Plan 2020 (SBRAP- 2020) compared with 28th in 2019 based on the implementation and feedback scores.
The data released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, shows that Kerala with a score of 75.49 percent has been placed at 15th rank in the country. The ranking is based on the implementation score and feedback score obtained from the beneficiaries.
The progress is the result of proactive measures and initiatives taken by the Government of Kerala to stimulate the state’s business environment with an integrated development strategy encompassing policy reforms and business reengineering processes.
“The holistic approach focusing on investment with sustainable development has helped the state to make rapid gains as a preferred investment destination,” said P Rajeeve, Industries, Coir, and Law Minister. Going forward the ranking would further improve with the number of initiatives currently being under implementation, he said.
The SBRAP-2020 comprised 301 action points spread across 18 Departments/Agencies covering 15 reform areas with an addition of several sector-specific reforms. Unlike the earlier evaluation based on One Uniform Ranking, the SBRAP-2020 assessment categorized states into Top Achievers, Achievers, Aspirer, and Emerging Business Ecosystems. Kerala is placed under the category of Aspirer. The categorization is based on the final scores for reform implementation as well as a user feedback survey conducted by DPIIT.
Commenting on the achievement Principal Secretary Industries & NORKA Suman Billa IAS said the improvement in the ranking would inspire the industrial and investment promotion agencies under the Government of Kerala to enhance efforts to attract more investments and enterprises to the state. “This is a defining moment for consolidation and rapid growth,”he said.
“The SBRAP-2020 ranking is expected to provide a further boost to Kerala as a preferred investment destination in the coming days,” said MG Rajamanickam IAS Managing Director Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC). KSIDC, the nodal agency for implementing SBRAP in the state along with the Department of Industries has been working in this direction with a single-minded focus, he said. The State has witnessed a significant improvement in DPIIT’s SBRAP implementation over the last four years from 22.8 percent in 2016 to 80-90 percent in 2020, gaining a CAGR of 40 percent during this period, Rajamanickam said.
The consolidated approach devised by the KSIDC with a slew of financial assistance schemes to MSMEs, women entrepreneurs, and startups is expected to help in improving the EoDB ranking in the future, he said. The third version of K-Swift, the online single-window clearance system, the private industrial parks, and aiming 100,000 new enterprises in 2022-23 are some of the other important instruments in improving the ease of doing business environment in Kerala.
