The best and worst states for business?

Last week, in the midst of the din created by Ease Of Doing Business report, another very telling report was released by the Govt of India,  which ranked states which were best places to set up businesses in, based on, the average implementation of business reforms between July 2015 and June 2016. The overall score across the country was 48.9%.  The scoring was based on the extent to which states had implemented Department Of Industrial Policy and Promotion’s 340-point business reform action plan (BRAP) for states and union territories.

Number one ranking went not to Gujarat but to Andhra Pradesh and second to Telangana, b0th scoring a fantastic 98.78%. Gujarat came in third at 98.21%, Chhatisgarh at 97.32% and MP at 97.01%. Maharashtra was at number 10, West Bengal at 15, Delhi at 19 – scoring even below 50%.

The worst places to do business were the NE states – Nagaland, Manipur, Sikkim, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya. Surprisingly, Chandigarh, which is often touted to a model city, was fourth from the bottom.

The BRAP includes recommendations for reforms on 58 regulatory processes, policies, practices or procedures spread across 10 reform areas spanning the life cycle of a typical business. The report was done in partnership with the World Bank.