Government's Commitment to Reforms
Shaktikanta Das, principal secretary to the Prime Minister, emphasized the government's commitment to reforms, with further measures in the pipeline. This was supported by NITI Aayog Member Rajiv Gauba, who outlined a comprehensive deregulation agenda.
Shift in Regulatory Approach
Gauba highlighted a shift from a "prohibited unless permitted" to a "permitted unless prohibited" regulatory approach, aiming to dismantle the remnants of the Licence Raj that persist in new forms.
Next-Generation Reforms
- The reforms are part of the agenda outlined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, named Jan Vishwas Siddhant, focusing on reducing "regulatory cholesterol".
- Regulatory changes should follow a fixed annual schedule, with exceptions only for urgent needs.
- All regulations, both existing and new, should undergo a regulatory impact assessment and cost implementation evaluation.
Licensing and Inspections
- Licensing should be restricted to national security and risks to health or the environment.
- Promote automatic self-registration and long-term license validity to avoid frequent renewals.
- Routine inspections should be replaced with risk-based inspections by third-party entities.
- Over 200 quality control orders were recommended for suspension due to additional compliance costs.
Industry and Government Collaboration
- Gauba highlighted the government’s elimination of over 42,000 compliances and decriminalization of 3,700 provisions.
- Encouraged the industry to fully exploit current favorable conditions, akin to replicating the success of Apple in India.
- Stressed the importance of pragmatic reforms that account for India's unique developmental context, instead of blindly adopting global standards.
Implementation and Coordination Challenges
- Despite federal reforms, implementation gaps remain at state and municipal levels due to redundant criminalization in local laws.
- A deregulation committee led by Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan will coordinate reform efforts with states.
Economic Growth and Global Positioning
India's economy is at a critical juncture, with the potential to sustain prolonged growth. Gauba urged industries to leverage India's large market and rising incomes to attract global production and innovation while advocating for reduced protectionism to benefit from free trade agreements.
Investment in Innovation
Gauba emphasized the need for increased industry investment in research, development, and skilling, highlighting that these responsibilities should not fall solely on the government.
