A map of Andhra Pradesh. | Photo Credit: File Photo The Andhra Pradesh Government is confident of retaining its top ranks in implementing the Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) laid down by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to rate States’ performance on the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) front. When the EoDB ranks were started in 2015, Andhra Pradesh was No. 2, and it secured the No.1 rank in 2016, 2017, and 2019. After that, DPIIT dispensed with the ranking system and instead began recognising the States that excelled in implementing the BRAP as ‘top achievers’, ‘achievers’, ‘aspirers’, and ‘emerging business ecosystems’. As far as the BRAP-2020 (whose results were declared in June 2022) was concerned, A.P. was adjudged a top achiever alongside Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana. The results of BRAP-2022 are awaited, and the deadline for implementing BRAP-2024 ended on September 15. The DPIIT has set October 15 as the last date for submitting evidence of implementation of BRAP and user data. This is to be followed by an assessment of the evidence furnished by the States before November 30. The Government of India will conduct a feedback survey by January 31, 2025, and announce the results in February. ‘Pro-active stance’A senior officer involved in the Industries Department told The Hindu that the BRAP-2024 was released on January 31, 2024, and it consisted of a set of 344 recommendations spread over 21 areas, including elements of the World Bank’s new B-READY (Business-Ready) report that benchmarks the business environment and investment climate in most economies. He said A.P. took a proactive stance in executing the BRAP-2024 by formulating detailed department-level action plans to ensure that all the reforms were implemented efficiently. Integrated Labour ActOne practice that might help A.P. stay on top is the A.P. Integrated Labour Act, which provides an integrated online system for registering and filing combined returns (the Act covers 14 labour laws). Over 30.13 lakh applications have been processed under this mechanism since 2015. Besides, A.P. was the first State to reverse-integrate its Single Desk portal with the DPIIT’s National Single Window System. Significant measuresAnother significant measure the State government is taking is the online allocation of raw materials (coal and ethanol), which used to be done manually before. Considering the complexities, the process has been onboarded to the A.P. Single Desk Portal.The A.P. Environment Management Corporation Limited also initiated an online waste exchange portal to facilitate the proper disposal of industrial and other wastes by partnering with existing industries and empanelling transporters, recyclers, and industries utilising the waste, among other stakeholders. Published – September 15, 2024 07:25 pm IST