Andhra Pradesh Magazine English June 2016 | Page 37

Two Years of Accomplishments
(An) interesting fact to emerge from the study is the contrasting performances of
two states that were earlier one:Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Even though the
former emerged with the crown jewel of Hyderabad in its kitty, it is Naidu’s rump
Andhra Pradesh that is stealing the show.
- R Jagannathan, Senior Journalist

T

he sunrise state of Andhra
Pradesh has outshined
Telangana in World Bank list
of investor-friendly states in
the country. In an
acknowledgement to Chief Minister
N Chandrababu Naidu’s relentless
efforts to turn around the economy,
AP has been selected the ‘second
hot destination for investment in
India’, according to the World Bank
report on ‘Ease of Doing Business’.
The state-wise report released by
the World Bank on September 2015
ranked the new State of Andhra
Pradesh at second place, after
Gujarat, in terms of creating friendly
atmosphere for investors. Telangana
fared at 13th position in the
rankings.
According to the report, Gujarat is at
the top place with a score of 71.14
per cent, whereas AP secureda close
second rank with 70.12 per cent.
This shows we're making an impact
through our work,
the Chief Minister said.

The Background

In December, 2014, at the “Make In
India” workshop, State governments
agreed to a 98-point action plan for
business reforms to all States and
Union Territories. The objective of
the action plan was to lay out the
first of a series of recommendations
targeted at increasing transparency
and improving the efficiency and
effectiveness of various government
regulatory functions and services
for business in India. Simplifying
regulatory burdens on business at
the State level is an important
component of the ambitious Ease of
Doing Business in India initiative.
JUNE 2016

World Bank Rankings

Rank

State

Score

1

Gujarat

71.14%

2

Andhra Pradesh

70.12%

3

Jharkhand

63.09%

4

Chhattisgarh

62.45%

5

Madhya Pradesh

62.00%

The Assessment

This assessment, the first of its kind,
has been conducted to take stock of
reforms implemented by States in
the period January 1 to June 30,
2015. Data was collected through a
structured questionnaire that was
completed by each State and UT
Government. The responses were
validated through a series of
in-depth workshops with State
Government representatives, and
the collection of supporting
evidence on each of the parameters
of the questionnaire.

Overall Results

The implementation status of each
State has been converted to a
percentage, and, on the basis of this
total percentage, the report
calculated the State rankings as
shown in the table (above).
As per the report, AP is ranked in
the category of ‘Aspiring Leaders’
which means the overall
implementation status is to be
between 50 per cent and 75 per
cent.
The report of the World Bank stated
that AP has implemented an effective online single-window system

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with provision for filing, payment,
satus tracking, online scrutiny and
approval of applications. The report
also praises the VAT registration
system followed by AP along with
states such as Gujarat, Himachal
Pradesh and Karnataka. The Chief
Minister pointed out that this rating
will act as a major indicator for
prospective investors across the
globe looking at investing in India.
“We are now targeting the number
one position. I'm confident that we
will soon make it to the list of
“leaders” category by falling in the
76-98 point score card,” he said.

Number One Soon

The difference between Gujarat and
Andhra Pradesh is only 1 percent.
The State administation is now
working hard to ensure that AP
achieves number one rank soon in
the ease of doing business. The CM’s
push in this regard was even noted
by no less DIPP secretar Amitabh
Kant.
“Gujarat is really working hard to
maintain its number one position
simply because Andhra Pradesh is
driving it too hard this year,” he
remarked.

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