Andhra Pradesh tops 'Ease of Doing Business’ ranking of states
11 Jul 2018
Andhra Pradesh has topped the centre’s Ease of Doing Business Index for states beating top contenders Telengana and Jharkhand, both having perfect 100 per cent score on the ‘Reform Evidence Scorecard’ – a real-time index mapping states’ improvement.
Andhra Pradesh's neighbour Telangana, which is also the country's newest state, has been ranked number two in the list, followed by Haryana at number three and Jharkhand and Gujarat at number four and five, respectively.
The other states that make up the top 10 are Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan.
"A large number of states have made significant progress in reforms suggested in the Business Reform Action plan (BRAP) 2017," the government said.
The index data is collected on an online dashboard maintained by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), which conducts the ranking.
Andhra Pradesh was top-ranked on the basis of combined score of Reform Evidence and feedback from the private sector. Jharkhand fell to the fourth spot with 97.99 per cent combined score.
In 2016, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana jointly secured the top position on Ease of Doing Business index under the Business Reform Action Plan, 2017. The Business Reform Action Plan 2017 includes 405 recommendations for reforms on regulatory processes, policies, practices and procedures spread across 12 reform areas.
As of March, nearly 17 states, including West Bengal, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, had Reform Evidence score well above 90 per cent while 15 states had achieved a combined score of 90 per cent and more.
17 states have achieved a reform evidence score of more than 90 per cent and 15 have achieved a combined score of 90 per cent and more.
West Bengal was at the 10th spot in Ease of Doing Business index with 94.70 per cent score. Maharashtra is at 13th rank with a 92.71 per cent score and Delhi is far behind at 23rd rank with a meagre 31.60 percent score.
Both Mumbai and New Delhi (Delhi), the two cities the World Bank takes into consideration for its annual Ease of Doing Business Index, have not performed well on the index.
"The states which have achieved 80 per cent or more reforms evidence score represent 84 per cent of the country's area, 90 per cent of the country's population and 79 per cent of India's GDP," the department of industrial policy and promotion said.