J&K Government tabled the J&K Economic Survey 2017 in the state legislature. It carries a number of chapters listing and detailing the various initiatives that were introduced last fiscal. One of them is about the how the government is working on Ease of Doing Business. Here Kashmir Life reproduces the entire chapter in larger public interest
Ease of Doing Business is an index published by the World Bank and it is an aggregate figure that includes different parameters which define the Ease of Doing Business. The ranking on the index is based on the average of 10 sub-indices. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) of the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry is in partnership with the World Bank Group. Earlier this year it released the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) under Ease of Doing Business initiative for the current financial year 2017-18. The Action Plan with a total of 372 recommendations was offered for implementation by all the States and Union Territories including Jammu and Kashmir. The report shows that Ease of Doing Business ranking has improved significantly during the current performance on the part of several key departments in J&K state.
Out of total 372 recommendations, J&K state has successfully implemented 270 recommendations and uploaded 262 replies. As per the dynamic ranking by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), J&K stands at 22nd rank with 12.71 points as on date moving up seven places from previous year’s ranking of 29. There are fair chances that by the end of the year, with further improvement in performance. While most of the departments have shown improvement in performance yet at least departments namely Power Development Department, Revenue and Forest Departments have not shown the desired results. In particular, the Power Development Department has not performed according to expectations and owing to its slackness it has adversely impacted the growth of industries which could have been a good avenue for employment of the youth in the state, which otherwise has immense potential to check growing unemployment among the youth.
There is significant change for betterment in the business sector and that the Government is responding to the reform points by implementing these so that the Ease of Doing Business scheme becomes responsive in the State. Consequently, it is also important that the departments who have not shown desirable improvement have to gear up and come in line with other departments to ensure that their contribution to the industrial development of the State does not lag behind.
The issue before the Government is unemployment among the educated youth. The improvement in industry sector is bound to provide opening for employment to the youth of the State. The efforts of Government in making reforms are meant to improve industrial culture and atmosphere in the State so that bright opportunities of employment are available. The reforms that have been suggested and have also been implemented, though some remain still in the pipeline, are all in the direction of improving job opportunities in industrial sector and Government in the right direction of handling the problem of unemployment.
