Injustice To Telangana In New EoDB Ranking?

But there appears to be confusion regarding the methodology used in BRAP 2022 to reach results. Kerala was able to approve 307, or 87.2%, of the total 352 reforms. Andhra Pradesh approved 318 or 90.3% of reforms, but is said to be second in the ranking. Telangana, which doesn’t figure in the top performing States, carried out 332 or 93.75% reforms

New Delhi: Telangana ranking lower under the Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) 2022 than under BRAP 2020 has triggered a political row, but it seems that there is little clarity as to how the ease of doing business (EoDB) is measured.

The Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT), under the Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry, prepares the BRAP report that ranks States according to their performance in enhancing the EoDB.

Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on September 5 lauded Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat for their remarkable reforms in streamlining processes and providing efficient services to businesses and citizens alike.

But there appears to be confusion regarding the methodology used in BRAP 2022 to reach this result. Kerala was able to approve 307, or 87.2 per cent, of the total 352 reforms. Andhra Pradesh approved 318 or 90.3 per cent of reforms, but is said to be second in the ranking. Telangana, which doesn’t figure in the top performing states, carried out 332 or 93.75 per cent reforms.

More curiously, Kerala failed to approve 33 reforms, whereas both Telugu-speaking States didn’t have any failure, and yet both are below Kerala. Gujarat approved only 318 reforms, but it is still among the top performers.

Bizz Buzz repeatedly contacted senior officials in the Ministry of Commerce & Industry regarding BRAP 2022 and the methodology that was used, but there has been no response from them.

Bizz Buzz earlier reported that the Central government seemed unwilling to release the BRAP report. Other officials, however, had said that the government was reluctant to release the report because states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party have been eclipsed by better performance of non-BJP-ruled states in EoDB rankings.

BRAP 2022 had 352 reforms, subsumed under two categories: Action Plan A comprised 261 reforms relating to business; Action Plan B included 91 reforms relating to citizens.