by Maleeha Sofi
SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir administration has significantly advanced its Compliance Reduction and Deregulation initiative. Under the direct leadership of Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, the initiative is being positioned as a transformative step to enhance ease of doing business, attract investment, and simplify regulatory procedures across sectors.
On July 24, 2025, Dulloo chaired a high-level meeting to review the current status of the reforms, particularly those flagged by the national Task Force led by the Cabinet Secretary of India. The review meeting was attended by senior officials, including the Principal Secretary, Power Development Department; Commissioner Secretaries of Forest, Industries and Commerce, and Rural Development; Secretary, Law; and the Director, Industries and Commerce, Jammu.
Launched earlier this year, the deregulation initiative is aligned with the Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) 2024, the seventh edition of a flagship national programme by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Government of India. The deadline for completing BRAP 2024 reforms—including its enhanced components BRAP+ and RCB+—is March 15, 2025.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration formally began its internal reform process on April 21, 2025, when 23 Priority Areas were allocated to respective departments. Action plans for each area were to be submitted on the Regulatory Compliance Portal (RCP) by May 21, 2025.
All departments met the initial deadline, uploading their plans by June 2, 2025. The Chief Secretary reviewed these submissions on June 13, 2025, directing departments to revise and refine responses where necessary. These revised submissions were uploaded by June 29, 2025.
Subsequently, on July 4, 2025, the national Task Force returned eight of the Priority Areas for reconsideration. A meeting chaired by Dulloo with the Task Force delegation on July 15, 2025, led to the identification of three more Priority Areas requiring further review. This brought the total number of reform areas under active re-evaluation to 11 out of 23.
The 23 Priority Areas identified by the Jammu and Kashmir administration span a wide array of governance and economic sectors. In the urban development and land use segment, the Housing and Urban Development Department has been tasked with enabling flexible zoning norms to facilitate mixed-use development, while the Revenue Department is leading efforts to digitise the process for Change of Land Use (CLU), including the introduction of an online application system. In addition, amendments to building regulations are being considered to minimise land loss in commercial plots.
For industrial and rural development, reforms include rationalising the minimum road width requirements for industrial units operating in rural areas, a measure overseen by the Rural Development Department. The Industries and Commerce Department, meanwhile, is developing a Geographic Information System (GIS) data bank of industrial land that will be integrated with the national-level India Industrial Land Bank. Further, new building norms are being proposed to reduce land wastage in industrial layouts.
Labour reforms form another critical pillar of the initiative. These include the removal of restrictions that currently bar women from working in certain hazardous industries, and provisions to allow night-time employment for women in both factories and commercial establishments. Authorities are also working to revise existing thresholds related to factory closures and layoffs to reflect contemporary economic needs.
Environmental and safety-related reforms are also underway. The Forest, Ecology and Environment Department is working to implement a third-party certification system for environmental clearances, while the Home Department is developing protocols to permit accredited private agencies to conduct fire safety inspections and extend the validity period for Fire No-Objection Certificates.
A key feature of the broader governance reform is the establishment of a State Single Window System, which will be digitally linked to the National Single Window System. This effort, spearheaded by the Industries and Commerce Department, aims to centralise and streamline all industrial and commercial clearances, offering a more transparent and investor-friendly regulatory experience.
At the July 24 meeting, Commissioner Secretary, Industries and Commerce, Vikramjit Singh informed that 434 reform points had been identified under BRAP across departments in J&K. Out of these, 425 have been implemented, while nine were returned by the Task Force with observations. These mainly pertain to the 11 Priority Areas still under discussion.
Singh assured that the Industries & Commerce Department, as the nodal agency, is actively coordinating with other departments to address gaps and upload remaining compliance documents in the coming days.
Director, Industries & Commerce, Jammu, Arun Kumar Manhas, gave a detailed breakdown of the ongoing work. He highlighted: Simplification and digitisation of CLU applications; Rationalising road width norms for rural industrial projects; Modifying building regulations to conserve land in industrial zones;
Lifting restrictions on women in hazardous sectors; Expanding working hour flexibility for commercial establishments; Introducing credible third-party certifications to improve speed and transparency.
These reforms, Manhas said, are designed to reduce the time and cost of approvals, making it easier for investors and businesses to operate in the Union Territory.
Chief Secretary Dulloo reiterated that compliance reduction and regulatory simplification must be treated as top governance priorities by all departments. He warned against complacency and stressed the importance of uploading evidentiary proof of compliance to ensure credibility and accountability.
“These are not paper exercises—they are essential for building investor trust, creating jobs, and improving our administrative efficiency,” he said.
He directed the Industries & Commerce Department to report back with updated compliance uploads and timelines at the next review.
With 11 Priority Areas still pending finalisation, the next round of review—expected in early August—will focus on resolving Task Force observations and accelerating the rollout of already-cleared reforms. Officials say that once fully implemented, the deregulation initiative will offer a more transparent, efficient, and business-ready governance model in Jammu and Kashmir.
By aligning closely with the Centre’s reform architecture and executing department-specific improvements, the Jammu and Kashmir administration is preparing the ground for sustained economic development through better rules, digitised systems, and inclusive labour policies.
