World Bank to release report on best and worst performing states in India

Mumbai: The World Bank will release a report on the best and the worst performing states in India, based on parameters like development and performance in different sectors, within next ten days.

"The World Bank has conducted study of all Indian states on parameters like development and performance in various sectors. The report will be out in the next ten days in which the worst and the best performing states will be revealed," Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Amitabh Kant said at an event on September 5.

He said the government is trying to build a spirit of competition on ease of doing business among the states. "This is a positive sign. Investors as well as public must know which are the best and worst performing states," Kant said. Kant, in-charge of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' drive, said there are 25 sectors in the country that have the potential of making India a "global champion".

"We have shortlisted some 25 sectors which have the potential of making the country a global champion. Defence, electrical, electronics, ports, pharmaceutical, BPO, road and highways, media and entertainment and oil and gas are few among them," he said.

To give a boost to its initiative of 'ease of doing business', the government has decided to increase the number of services on the e-Biz platform to 26 from the present 14, by the end of this year, the bureaucrat said.

"We want to integrate all the state and central government services so that there is one paper and one point of payment to make India an easy and simple place to do business. We want to increase the services offered under the e-Biz platform to 26 from the present 14," Kant said, adding that this will happen by the end of this year.

Admitting that the current environment for doing business in the country is "unfriendly", Kant said, "India can grow as a manufacturing nation only if we are able to dismantle the myriad of approval systems. It requires a mindset change. And this is a huge challenge."

He added that the government has also tried to reduce the number of licences required for setting up industries here and technology must be used for converging and integrating services. "Human interface should altogether be done away with and replaced by technology, to weed out corruption embedded in the system.

Everything should be online, there should be no paper work. We feel a two-page form should be sufficient to get permissions for any industry and there should not be a need of various identity cards like PAN, TIN or any other proofs," Kant said.

India has the potential to grow at a rate of more than 10 per cent and this growth rate can continue for the next 30-40 years, he added. "Smart city and skill development programmes will help us achieve our target, Kant said.