Setting up of an Investment Clearance Cell (ICC) was announced in the Budget 2020-21 with the objective to provide "end to end" facilitation and support to investors, including pre investment advisory, provide  information related to land banks and facilitate clearances at Centre and State level. The cell was to operate through an online digital portal.

Envisioned as a one-stop shop for taking all the regulatory approvals and services in the country, the ICC/ National Single Window System (NSWS) [www.nsws.gov.in] was soft-launched on 22nd September, 2021 by Hon'ble  Commerce & Industry Minister.

Currently 146 Central approvals across 21 Ministries/ Departments are enabled to be applied through the NSWS portal. 14 States’/UTs’ Single Window Systems have been linked with the NSWS Portal thereby providing access to approvals of these States/UTs to be applied through a single login id. All concerned Ministries and Departments of the Central Government and States have been requested to integrate their approval processes with the NSWS.

The total number of approvals required to set up any project in India varies from State-to-State and depends on many factors like size of investment, funding source, sector, environmental clearance, number and type of employment and the State/UT in which the project is being set up by the investor, etc.

NSWS fulfills this requirement through the Know Your Approvals module (KYA) on the NSWS platform. The KYA is a dynamic, intelligent questionnaire which is built incorporating the various variables of the investor like sector, size of investment, type of entity and the State in which the investment is made. The module provides an indicative list of both Central and State approvals based on the specific inputs provided by the investor. Currently, the KYA module has details of over 3400 approvals across 32 Ministries/ Departments and 16 States /UTs.

Rajasthan is currently not integrated with NSWS. However, a preliminary discussion has been held with the State Government to apprise them about the integration process to onboard the NSWS.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Shri Som Parkash, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

Investment Clearance Cell single window access streamlines identification and application of Central and State regulatory approvals for projects. The Investment Clearance Cell (ICC)/National Single Window System (NSWS) provides a centralized online portal for pre investment advisory, land bank information and facilitation of Central and State regulatory clearances through single login access. Its Know Your Approvals (KYA) module is a dynamic questionnaire that produces an indicative list of required approvals based on investor inputs including sector, investment size, entity type and project location. Multiple Central approvals and several State/UT single window systems are linked to the portal, while integration of additional States, including Rajasthan, is in progress.