A big exercise is being carried out by Central Ministries & States/UTs to reduce compliance burden and the aim of this exercise is to simplify, decriminalize & remove redundant laws, said Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Textiles, while speaking at the workshop on National Workshop on Reducing Compliance Burden organised by DPIIT here today.

Shri Goyal said that India, under PM Modi, has come a long way from red-tapism to laying the red carpet for businesses.

The mindset has evolved from “Not able to understand complexities” to “It’s so simple to start a business”.

He said that  numerous regulatory compliances only confused the new prospects & built hesitation in investors but today we are creating a most conducive environment for entrepreneurs.

The Minister said that  the soft launch  of the National Single Window System is an outstanding example of Government's commitment to simply and rationalise things.

The NSWS portal hosts approvals across 18 Central Departments & 9 States and another 14 Central depts & 5 states will be added by Dec’21.

Shri Goyal said that through a participative & consultative approach with all stakeholders we are identifying & eliminating hurdles in a timebound manner.

Speaking on the occasion Secretary DPIIT said that more than 22,000 compliances have been reduced by Union Ministries, States & UTs so far under the initiative and about 13,000 compliances simplified while more than 1,200 processes have been digitized. It may be noted that during last fee years 103 offences have been decriminalized and 327 redundant provisions/laws removed.

Shri Goyal said that the National Workshop on Reducing Compliance Burden will showcase the progress, achievements and notable initiatives under the exercise of Reducing Compliance Burden to ensure Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business.

During the workshop Ministries and States showcased iconic reforms, shared Best Practices and highlighted impact created in continuous endeavour to reduce compliance burden and improve quality of living for citizens.

On the occasion Shri Piyush Goyal also released the Stakeholders Booklet on Reduction of Compliances.

The Workshop is going to promote peer learning among Ministries and States/UTs to facilitate swift adoption of Best Practices for improved Service Delivery to citizens and businesses.

With the intent to ensure “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance” the Government of India embarked on an ambitious journey to reduce burdensome compliances.

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) pioneered this initiative and closely engaged with the States/UTs and Ministries for more than two years to improve the regulatory and governance model across the country.

Under the aegis of 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav', an initiative of the Government of India to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of progressive India and its achievements, DPIIT held this National Workshop on Reducing Compliance Burden.

The workshop was chaired by Shri Piyush Goyal, and also addressed by Ministers of State for Commerce and Industry Shri Som Parkash and Smt. Anupriya Patel.

Some of the iconic reforms implemented by the Centre to ease compliance burden on citizens and businesses are-

1) Removal of distinction between Domestic and International OSP (other service provider) which will provide thrust to voice-based BPO and ITeS organizations in India,

2) liberalized access to geospatial data,

3) Introduction of ‘Mera Ration’ mobile app,

4) Introduction of single step online Aadhaar validation process for 18 services associated with Driving License and Registration Certificate.

5) 46 penal provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 and 12 offences under the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Act, 2008 decriminalized.

6) Through business process re-engineering, States/UTs have reduced time for granting approvals/licenses, eliminated physical touch-points and brought transparency in inspections.

7) Single window clearances for new investors have reduced the time to start operations across businesses.

It was noted that many State Governments have also maintained the momentum of continued reforms by implementing licensing reforms, computerized central random inspection system, labour reforms, initiatives to support Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) and promote industrial development in the true spirit of cooperative federalism.

In July 2020, Cabinet Secretary had written to all Ministries to set up a dedicated team to examine the Acts and Regulations under their purview and reduce the compliance burden for citizens and business activities. DPIIT has been directed to act as a Nodal Department to coordinate this exercise of reducing compliance burden on citizens and business activities.

The objective for this comprehensive exercise is to improve ease of living and ease of doing business by simplifying, rationalizing, digitizing and decriminalizing government to business and citizen interfaces across all Ministries and States/Union Territories. Following are the focus areas of this exercise:-

1) Eliminate compliance burden across all procedures, rules, notifications, circulars, office memorandums, etc. which merely add to time and cost without achieving any tangible improvement in governance.

2) Repeal/amend/subsume redundant laws.

3) Decriminalize laws pertaining to technical and minor non-compliance issues to eliminate constant fear of being prosecuted for trivial defaults, while retaining strict criminal enforcement for serious fraudulent offences that jeopardize and prejudice public interest.

In July-August 2020, DPIIT shared the template of Action Plan to reduce compliance burden with all Ministries and States/UTs. Each Department and State/UT appointed a nodal officer for coordinating the exercise for reduction of compliance burden.

So far, through a simple, transparent, and time-bound exercise various government agencies have reduced more than 22,000 compliances across Ministries and States/UTs.

As part of the exercise on reducing compliance burden, Ministries and States/ UTs implemented various initiatives that impact specific segments of citizens and businesses. Some of the iconic Initiatives of different departments are -

1) Department of Telecommunications:

- Distinction between Domestic and International OSP (other service provider) removed, allowing Indian Telecom Service Providers serving foreign counterparts to register as an OSP. Allowed sharing of EPABX and PSTN lines by domestic and international centers. This provides massive growth thrust to BPO, BPM and ITeS organizations providing voice-based services in India

2) Department of Science and Technology:

- Private, public entities and research institutes now allowed to collect, process, store, publish and share geospatial data and services including maps enabling an Indian firm offer world class geo spatial service such as Google maps. Liberalized access to geospatial data helps stakeholders plan better for infrastructure projects, protection from natural calamities and enables environment protection. Reduced reliance on foreign resources and technology for geo spatial mapping

3) Department of Food and Public Distribution:

- Migrant beneficiaries empowered to get their entitled quota of food grains from any electronic point of sale (e-PoS) enabled fair price shops across the country. ‘Mera Ration’ mobile app introduced to help users identify nearest fair price shop, check entitlement details and recent transactions. Ration cards made portable minimizing compliance pain of migrant beneficiaries in availing their food grain quota. Facility covers more than 75 Crore beneficiaries under National Food Security Act (NFSA) covering almost 94.3% of NFSA population

4) Ministry of Road Transport and Highways:

- Single step online Aadhaar validation process introduced for 18 services associated with Driving License (DL), Registration Certificate (RC), Transfer of Ownership, International Driving Permit, Hire-Purchase, etc., eliminating the need for citizens to visit the Road Transport Offices (RTO) leading to hassle free services at the doorstep of citizens

- Registration Certificate now issued at dealer location itself. Vehicle registration can be done anywhere in the state (Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal)  vis-a-vis earlier process wherein it could be done only at respective RTO

5) Ministry of Education-

- Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA) user interface developed to enable learners and teachers across the country to access curricula of NCERT, CBSE and SCERTs online. 1.85 lakh pieces of e-content on-boarded and high traffic on portal (~2,400 crore hits since lockdown) showcases its increased usage. Training of teachers has been enabled online on DIKSHA with about 25 lakh teachers benefitting from it.

6) Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises:

- Samadhaan portal launched empowering MSMEs across the country to register and track grievances related to delayed payment and settlement of disputes. CHAMPIONS portal launched by the Prime Minister for speedy redressal of grievances of MSMEs. Over 37,000 grievances redressed (by Aug’21) with a reply rate of more than 99%.

- Sampark portal launched to help connect jobseekers (passed out trainees/ students of MSME Technology Centers) to recruiters. 4.73+ lakh jobseekers and more than 6,200 recruiters are registered on the portal till date

8) Department of Consumer Affairs:

- BIS Care app launched empowering consumers to check authenticity of ISI marked and hallmarked products. Citizens can also lodge complaints against fraudulent products using the App.

***

DJN