Ahead of the Union Budget, the industry body Confederation of Indian Industry(CII) has put forward a 10-point specific suggestion before the central government to increase Ease of Doing Business.
It has suggested that all regulatory approvals – central, state and local levels – must mandatorily be provided only through the National Single Window System (NSWS), which they believe will help bring about transparency and speed in the processes. It should be completed for all central ministries within the next six months, followed by bringing on the platform, states, in a phased manner.
Secondly, the CII said an Act, imposing statutory obligation on all public authorities for time-bound delivery of services and redressal of grievances, could be passed, with provision of deemed approval beyond the prescribed timeline.
Further as its third point, it called for expediting the process of dispute resolution through both improving the capacity of courts and placing greater reliance on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism.
The expansion of scope of the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) was the fourth point of CII. NJDG has been set up to identify, manage and reduce pendency of cases across the courts.
CII suggested that for streamlining environmental compliances, a unified framework could be introduced, which consolidates all requirements into a single document.
In its suggestion list, CII believed that the easy access to land is important to facilitate new or expanding businesses. It suggested that states may be incentivised to develop an Online Integrated Land Authority with an objective to streamline land banks, digitise and integrate land records, and provide information on disputed land, among others.
CII’s other key suggestions involve reducing labour compliances, improving trade facilitation, and minimising tax-related litigation.
The upcoming 2025-26 Budget will mark Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s eighth one coming on February 1.
The budget is coming in the backdrop of weak GDP numbers and relatively weak consumption in the economy.