Myriad policies and permissions challenges for investors: KPMG

A transparency in government processes, removing duplicate and redundant requirements and predictability in law and policy-making would help in easing of doing business in the country, according to a report by KPMG In India.

The challenges for the investor while considering India as an investment destination emerge from myriad policies of various States, approvals and permissions from various Government agencies and lack of consistent approach towards investor protection, it said.

The road ahead for ease of doing business (EoDB 2.0) remains challenging. Beyond digitisation, the focus would include enhancing interoperability among Government departments, reducing regulatory compliance burden along with focus on quality of regulations and institutional setups that allow central and state governments to transition from ‘data rich’ to ‘data intelligent’ economy.

Further, Regulatory Impact Assessment can reform the regulatory architecture of the country through assessment based on utility and impact of regulations. Further, factoring in environmental sustainability in policy-making is also necessary, it said.

Effective business planning and clarity in investments will improve the overall productivity for industry, the report “Ease of Doing Business 2.0: Accelerating transformation for India @100’, said.

Since 2014, the Government of India launched an ambitious initiative of regulatory reform aimed at making it easier to do business in India. These efforts yielded substantial results with India jumping 79 places, that is from 142nd rank in 2014 to 63rd rank in 2019, in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report.

The prime reason for India’s rank improvement includes the outcome-based approach of the government departments which engaged business users and other related stakeholders along the reform journey through roundtable discussions and digital mediums.

The clarity in regulations signifies a simple and clear language leading to an unequivocal and specific interpretation, leaving no scope for confusion or misinterpretation. Predictability of regulatory changes will support in developing a trust-based economy, it said.