THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala has made an amazing stride in Ease of Doing Business Index, a World Bank initiative of ranking states and UTs 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.
According to the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) under the Union ministry of commerce and industry, Kerala with a score of 75.49% has been placed 15th in the country. The ranking is based on the implementation score and feedback score obtained from the beneficiaries.
Industries Minister P Rajeeve attributed the achievement to the proactive measures taken by the state government to stimulate the state’s business environment. It included policy reforms and business re-engineering processes. “The holistic approach focusing on investment with sustainable development has helped the state to make rapid gains as a preferred investment destination,” he said. The government aims to get ranked within the first ten states in the next year’s index, 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 categorised states into Top Achievers, Achievers, Aspirer and Emerging Business Ecosystems. Kerala is placed under the category of Aspirer.
Industries principal secretary Suman Billa said the improvement in ranking would inspire the industrial and investment promotion agencies under the state government to attract more investments and enterprises to the state.
“The SBRAP-2020 ranking is expected to provide a further boost to Kerala as a preferred investment destination in the coming days,” said M G Rajamanickam, managing director of Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation.
75.49% is state’s score in EoDB
‘Proactive measures’
Industries Minister P Rajeeve attributed the achievement to the government’s proactive steps to stimulate state’s business environment.