Bhubaneswar, Dec 7: Odisha’s efforts on implementation of business reforms are getting noticed. In one of the recent tweets, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has appreciated the progress made by the State in ‘Ease of Doing Business’ thus making it easy for businesses to set up and operate in the State.
The State has implemented a number of significant reform initiatives in the past 8-9 months. A facilitation cell has been set up to facilitate approvals and resolve investor grievances. Issues concerning more than 50 projects have already been resolved by this cell. The timelines for various approvals have been reduced.
42 services have been included under the State Right to Public Services Act. As per the new business framework in the State, Green category industries get the approvals within 15 days and other industries get the same within 30 days.
In a significant initiative, the State has exempted all Green category of industries from consent management. Also, the validity for consent to operate under various category of industries has also been increased to make it easy for businesses to operate without frequent renewals. In terms of labour reforms, the State has launched a voluntary compliance scheme covering 18 different labor laws. Again, the scheme is designed to enable entrepreneurs for self-check and compliance with minimum inspections. A number of technological initiatives have also been taken up.
The State has set up a new website and a unique mobile app providing information about various policies, sector specific approvals and investment opportunities. An online portal has been launched to provide information on land use and various services to a prospective investor for faster decision making.
The State Pollution Control Board is already providing the consent under various Acts through an online system. Another 14 services concerning different approvals for setting up the industries will be made available online very soon. The State has also set up a first-of-Its kind centralized inspection system to ensure synchronized inspections by all departments based on risk assessment of units using a computerized framework Going forward, the State is undertaking initiatives to remove all touchpoints for all registration and renewal processes. A new electricity connection for all industries will be available based on online application. The State is developing a system for online assessment and approvals of building plans and will be enacting a building code for all the entire State.
