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May 19, 2016

Two Years of Reform

In this Indian Express article, Dr. Arvind Panagariaya, Vice Chairman, NITI Ayog reflects on the economic reforms initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi led NDA Government durings its two years in office. The article opines that "substantial progress progress has been made towards restoring economic momentum. Much remains to be done." 
 

Excerpts below:

 

"The government has introduced the Shram Suvidha portal to curtail inspector raj. The portal allows firms to self-certify compliance with Central labour laws with inspections conducted via a random selection of enterprises. The government has amended the Factories Act, 1948 to allow women to work night shifts and increase overtime hours per week. It has also amended the Apprenticeship Act, 1961 to encourage firms to take more apprentices. A campaign to improve the ease of doing business has led to a significant simplification of procedures, especially in the states. Telangana now gives its entrepreneurs the right to time-bound clearance of business proposals...

 

For long, commentators have emphasised the need for a modern bankruptcy law. Absent such a law, firms find exit out of an activity a daunting task, which in turn discourages them from entering many profitable activities. Recognising this, the government has just enacted the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Act, 2015. act amalgamates all existing laws on corporate and individual insolvency and bankruptcy and provides a time-bound process of exit through professionals...

 

There has been a total absence of any allegations of corruption during the two-year tenure of the government. Often overlooked, this is a major achievement in a country that has seen corruption scandals break out under virtually every government in recent decades. According to rankings by the Economist magazine, the wealth of crony capitalists in India has fallen to 3 per cent of the GDP in 2016 from 18 per cent of the GDP in 2008."

 

The entire text of the article can be seen here

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