DPIIT Launches Business Reforms Action Plan and Key Initiatives to Improve Ease of Doing Business

In the last 5 years, India have improved by 79 ranks in EoDB rankings published by World Bank Group as Doing Business Report. As per the latest DBR ranking published in 2019, India ranked at 63.

Following the discontinuation of the DBR Report in 2020, the World Bank launched the B-Ready Assessment in 2024 to evaluate 180+ countries over three years across 10 topics spanning the entire business lifecycle: Business Entry, Business Location, Utility Services, Labor, Financial Services, International Trade, Taxation, Dispute Resolution, Market Competition, and Business Insolvency. India is to be part of the Third B-Ready Report, schedule to release in 2026.

With a view to improve India's business climate, attract investments, and foster economic growth, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has launched several initiatives including Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) under the overall umbrella initiative of Ease of Doing Business.

BRAP initiative was launched in 2014 by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). It focuses on streamlining regulations, reducing compliance burdens, and implementing digital solutions to improve the business environment in India. Key reforms include establishing single window systems, simplifying building permissions, enhancing inspection procedures, and digitizing various business processes. These reforms aim to make India a more attractive destination for both domestic and foreign investment.

So far, seven editions of BRAP (2015, 2016, 2017-18, 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2024) have been completed, wherein States/UTs have been assessed. The seventh edition, BRAP 2024, is currently in progress. Over 9,700 reforms have been carried out across States and Union Territories. State/UT Ranking on Ease of Doing Business.

Under the Regulatory Compliance Burden (RCB) initiative, launched by the Government of India in 2020, Central Ministries/Departments and States/UTs undertook a self-identification exercise to reduce burdensome compliances for businesses and citizens. As a result, over 47,000 compliances have been reduced during the last five years.

Of the total compliances reduced:

• 16,109 compliances were simplified, 22,287 compliances were digitized,
• 4,623 compliances were decriminalized, and
• 4,270 compliances were eliminated by removal of redundant and duplicative requirements.

Further, under the RCB+ initiative, 4,846 compliances have been reduced out of 6,262 identified compliances across 23 Acts commonly implemented by States/UTs.

The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 was passed in both Houses of the Parliament (Lok Sabha on 27th July 2023, Rajya Sabha on 02nd August 2023) and received President's Assent on 11th August 2023. The Act decriminalizes 183 provisions under 42 Acts administered by 19 Ministries/ Departments.

The Act employs various approaches to decriminalization, including the removal of both imprisonment and fines, conversion of imprisonment and/or fine into penalties, and the introduction of compounding of offenses in certain cases. DPIIT on recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee initiated the process of further identifying minor criminal provisions to be compiled for another common amendment bill.

The Jan Vishwas (Amendments of Provisions) Bill, 2025 was approved by the Union Cabinet on 12.08.2025 and was subsequently laid before the Lok Sabha on 18 August 2025. Thereafter, the Bill was referred to the Select Committee constituted under the Chairmanship of Shri Tejasvi Surya. At present, the Bill is under examination by the said Committee.

This exercise builds on the success of the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 by expanding the reform agenda to cover 16 Central Acts administered by 10 Ministries/Departments. A total of 355 provisions are proposed to be amended 288 provisions decriminalized to foster Ease of Doing Business, and 67 provisions proposed to be amended to facilitate Ease of Living.

To systematically reduce regulatory overlaps and eliminate redundant compliances, the Government adopted a multi-stage institutional and analytical approach under the RCB initiative. Key measures undertaken include:

• Conducting self-identification exercises by Central Ministries/Departments and States/UTs to identify overlapping, obsolete and duplicative compliances, which led to the identification of over 47,000 compliances for review.
• Analytical mapping by DPIIT of more than 42,000 reduced compliances across over 670 unique Acts to identify common regulatory provisions and overlapping compliance requirements across States/UTs.
• Identification of 23 Acts under which more than 10 States/UTs had undertaken compliance reduction, and inclusion of these Acts under the RCB+ initiative for focused harmonisation and rationalisation.
• Review of 6,262 compliances under these Acts, resulting in the reduction of 4,846 compliances, thereby addressing inter-State and intra-regulatory duplication.

These measures have enabled elimination of redundant compliances, reduction of regulatory overlaps, and harmonisation of regulatory frameworks across jurisdictions.

The Government of India has undertaken a series of comprehensive reforms under the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP), which cut across critical areas such as Labour, Environment, Land Administration, and Taxation. These measures have significantly reduced both turnaround time and cost for setting up and operating businesses in the country. The intent of the Government is clear—to create a favorable and enabling environment for enterprises, thereby strengthening India’s position as an attractive investment destination.

BRAP, true to its dynamic nature, has continuously evolved to incorporate additional reforms, focus sectors, and the adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for delivering quality and efficient services to businesses. The reforms include initiatives such as online delivery of services through single-window systems, simplified environmental clearances, digitized registrations and renewals, and streamlined processes for utility connections. Furthermore, digital integration has been extended to the creation of land banks and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for industrial parks, integrated with the India Industrial Land Bank (IILB), which provides comprehensive investor-related information.

In addition to BRAP, the Government has introduced key initiatives such as Reducing Compliance Burden (RCB), Decriminalization of business laws, and the National Single Window System (NSWS). These initiatives are designed to provide further impetus to ease of doing business in India. The Government remains determined to build an investment-friendly ecosystem that supports both domestic and foreign investments, with a strong focus on removing sectoral hurdles and establishing multiple investment hubs across the nation.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has operationalized the National Single Window System (NSWS) to facilitate clearances and approvals for businesses. At present, registered businesses are able to track the status of their applications through the Investor Dashboard, which provides visibility into approval status and enables monitoring of progress in a transparent and time bound manner.

Currently, 32 Central Ministries/Departments and 33 States/UTs have been integrated with NSWS for facilitating and streamlining G2B approvals with access to 300+ G2B approvals of Central Departments and 3000+ G2B approvals of States/UTs. The NSWS helpline can be reached over call and email by business users for any grievances or support required for any issue related to NSWS. Daily grievance call mechanism is also in place for users requiring support to resolve their issues

This initiative is aimed at strengthening transparency, accountability, and efficiency in regulatory processes, thereby enhancing investor confidence and contributing to the Government’s ongoing efforts to improve the ease of doing business in the country.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Shri Jitin Prasada, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

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Abhishek Dayal/Shabbir Azad/Anushka Pandey

ANNEXURE

Ranking of States/UTs under BRAP since inception

BRAP 2015

BRAP 2016

 BRAP 2017-2018

BRAP-2019

BRAP 2020

BRAP 2022

• Category X includes northeastern states (excluding Assam) and UTs (excluding Delhi), and
• Category Y encompasses states and UTs with established business and citizen-centric systems.
• Remarks: States are categorized as "Top Achievers" (above 90%), "Achievers" (80–90%), "Fast Movers" (70–80%), and "Aspirers" (below 70%) based on their compliance with the action plan, reflecting the government's commitment to creating a business-friendly environment.
• B2G indicates Business Centric reforms
• C2G indicates Citizen Centric reforms

BRAP 2024

• EODB Categories (BRAP including RCB)

• Category X includes northeastern states (excluding Assam) and UTs (excluding Delhi), and
• Category Y, which encompasses states and UTs with established business centric systems.
• States are categorized as "Top Achievers" (above 95%), "Achievers" (90–95%), "Fast Movers" (80–90%), and "Aspirers" (below 80%) based on their compliance with the action plan, reflecting the government's commitment to creating a business-friendly environment.
• EODB Categories (BRAP excluding RCB)

• Category X includes northeastern states (excluding Assam) and UTs (excluding Delhi), and
• Category Y, which encompasses states and UTs with established business centric systems.
• States are categorized as "Top Achievers" (above 95%), "Achievers" (90–95%), "Fast Movers" (80–90%), and "Aspirers" (below 80%) based on their compliance with the action plan, reflecting the government's commitment to creating a business-friendly environment.