Thiruvananthapuram: At a time when India has jumped 30 places to the 100th spot in the World Bank’s global-ease-of-doing-business ranking, Kerala has taken a step towards a similar leap within the country.
The state is presently languishing at the 21st position among the 29 Indian states in the ease of doing business, but the state government has brought an ordinance that has amended seven major statutes, paving the way for a friendlier business ecosystem.
One of the changes is a simplification of the procedures related to getting sanctions for building construction, a change that will benefit not only those who are setting up business but also the common man who sets out to build his house.
State additional chief secretary Paul Antony, who handles the industries portfolio, said that an intelligent software was in the making which will automatically approve or reject building construction proposals as soon as the design of a building was uploaded in CAD format for approval.
“Within a matter of a few hours, the applicant will get to know whether the building plan is approved, and if it is rejected on what ground[s] it is rejected”, Antony said. “The objective is to make living, working and doing business in the state enjoyable,” he said.
An equally transformational change is with regard to the freedom being accorded to businessmen with regard to the choice of workers for their projects. Employers in Kerala will no longer be obliged to hire workers from registered trade unions. Instead, they will be free to use their own manpower or machinery.
“We have been a little late to start, but we are keen on making a significant improvement in the perception of the state as a place for doing business, and these groundbreaking decisions will change the status of Kerala in the ease of doing business rankings within the country”, said M. Beena, managing director of the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation.
The easing of the procedural formalities is expected to make investments in the state easier for small- and medium-sized industries that are seen to be a major sector for job creation in the state. Kerala’s engineering colleges alone have nearly 40,000 students, many of whom will be keen to pick up jobs in their home state instead of migrating to other countries in search of jobs.
