Assam most sluggish state for doing business'

Guwahati: A joint survey of NITI Aayog-IDFC Institute which was conducted to check the ease of doing business in India showcases the poor state of affairs on the same in Assam.

The sluggish process to get land and labour permits coupled with environment clearance to set up a business in the state is the striking back draw of the system. Also, there is lack of adequate power supply to keep the manufacturing units running without disturbance.

Putting Assam as the slowest in the country, the report based on an enterprise survey of over 3,200 post-2014 companies in the manufacturing sector across all states, shows that while the average time taken to set up a business in India was 118 days, it took 63 days in Tamil Nadu, 67 days in Andhra Pradesh but 248 days in Assam.

The country’s average number of days for getting construction permit is 112 days. While it takes around 41 days in Madhya Pradesh and 43 days in Bihar, it takes 270 days in Assam for the same.

Similarly, the average time taken for labour approvals and renewals ranges was found to be 74 for the country, it takes on average 103 days in Assam and Goa to get all labour related permits but only 20 days in Himachal Pradesh and 28 days in Chhattisgarh.

The average hours of power shortage per month faced by enterprises is around 46 hours in India. In Assam, the average is 156 hours in a month.

Though Assam industry department has spent a huge sum on publicising its venture, the report found that the awareness among enterprises about single window systems, instituted by states, is very low. On average, only about 20 per cent of start-ups, which are of recent origin, report using single window facilities introduced by state governments for setting up a business. Even among experts, only 41per cent have any knowledge of the existence of these facilities.