Make in India? Only 20% new enterprises have used single window clearance: GoI report

By Rajiv Shah
A new Government of India report has regretted that just about 20% of enterprises that started operations after Narendra Modi took over as India’s Prime Minister in 2014 have used the “single window system”, set up by different states to get all types of clearances, ranging from land and environment, to labour and power, to set-up their business.
Worse, the just-released report adds, only 41% of the experts interviewed admitted they were aware of the “process” of single window system, commenting, on the whole, the “awareness among the enterprises” about it was found to be “low, pointing to either incomplete implementation or insufficient awareness of the process.”
Calling single window system to “part of the checklist of 98 reforms agreed upon by state governments” under Modi’s ambitious Make in India initiative, the report says that its process “mandates that all approvals required by an enterprise to set up a business be routed under one common application window.”
Pointing towards variation in awareness about single window across states, ranging from 41% enterprises in Andhra Pradesh, 33% in Rajasthan, and 32% in Gujarat, to just about 9% in Maharashtra, the report says, interestingly, far more number of enterprises, about 64%, and 74% experts said they knew about the different environment categories for which clearances to begin a new enterprise are to be obtained.
Titled “Ease of Doing Business: An Enterprise Survey of Indian States”, the report is based on a survey of 3,326 manufacturing enterprises, five experts each from the 15 largest states in terms of number of enterprises, and 25 industry associations from the 19 largest states. It has been jointly prepared by Niti Aayog and Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC), Mumbai.

The highest awareness on environmental categories, says the report, is among the enterprises in Kerala (89%), followed by Sikkim (86%) and in Andhra Pradesh (85%), adding, the enterprises showing lowest awareness on this were from Bihar (33%), Odisha (22%), and Manipur (4%).
The report finds that that 50% of the medium-sized enterprises have taken up to 120 days to set up a business, though at the “upper end”, it enterprises have taken close to 240 days. “The average (i.e., mean) time taken to set up a business in India was 118 days with a wide variation across states”, it adds.
“It took, on average, 63 days to set up a business in Tamil Nadu and 67 days in Andhra Pradesh whereas for Kerala and Assam, firms took 214 days and 248 days respectively” the report says, adding, “The top 25% of took between 150 and 320 days for getting land allotted from the government.”
“The average time taken to get all construction related approvals was around 75 days. Firms reported longest time taken in Karnataka (140 days), Uttarakhand (136 days), and Kerala (135 days) and the shortest time taken in Himachal Pradesh (8 days)”, the report says.
As for environment related approvals and renewals ranges, the report says, it “takes on average 91 days for getting environmental clearances and on average 71 days for renewing these clearances”, with Uttar Pradesh and Kerala on an average taking 121 days, while 25 days in Chhattisgarh.
The report comments, “According to the World Bank’s 2017 Doing Business report, the time taken for getting construction permits was 190 days”, with India ranking “poorly (185 out of 187 countries) in this area”, adding, “It appears that the actual experience of enterprises is better than the survey results of the World Bank.”
The report claims that, in the period after Modi came to power, 38% of the enterprises believed that the regulatory environment for setting up a business had improved, another 38% said it had stayed the same while 21% said it had worsened.

Comments

From Kerala to Bangladesh: Lynching highlights deep social faultlines

By A Representative The recent incidents of mob lynching—one in Bangladesh involving a Hindu citizen and another in Kerala where a man was killed after being mistaken for a “Bangladeshi”—have sparked outrage and calls for accountability.

What Sister Nivedita understood about India that we have forgotten

By Harasankar Adhikari In the idea of a “Vikshit Bharat,” many real problems—hunger, poverty, ill health, unemployment, and joblessness—are increasingly overshadowed by the religious contest between Hindu and Muslim fundamentalisms. This contest is often sponsored and patronised by political parties across the spectrum, whether openly Hindutva-oriented, Islamist, partisan, or self-proclaimed secular.

Aravalli at the crossroads: Environment, democracy, and the crisis of justice

By Rajendra Singh* The functioning of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has undergone a troubling shift. Once mandated to safeguard forests and ecosystems, the Ministry now appears increasingly aligned with industrial interests. Its recent affidavit before the Supreme Court makes this drift unmistakably clear. An institution ostensibly created to protect the environment now seems to have strayed from that very purpose.

Safety, pay and job security drive Urban Company gig workers’ protest in Gurugram

By A Representative Gig and platform service workers associated with Urban Company have stepped up their protest against what they describe as exploitative and unsafe working conditions, submitting a detailed Memorandum of Demands at the company’s Udyog Vihar office in Gurugram. The action is being seen as part of a wider and growing wave of dissatisfaction among gig workers across India, many of whom have resorted to demonstrations, app log-outs and strikes in recent months to press for fair pay, job security and basic labour protections.

India’s universities lag global standards, pushing students overseas: NITI Aayog study

By Rajiv Shah A new Government of India study, Internationalisation of Higher Education in India: Prospects, Potential, and Policy Recommendations , prepared by NITI Aayog , regrets that India’s lag in this sector is the direct result of “several systemic challenges such as inadequate infrastructure to provide quality education and deliver world-class research, weak industry–academia collaboration, and outdated curricula.”

The rise of the civilizational state: Prof. Pratap Bhanu Mehta warns of new authoritarianism

By A Representative Noted political theorist and public intellectual Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta delivered a poignant reflection on the changing nature of the Indian state today, warning that the rise of a "civilizational state" poses a significant threat to the foundations of modern democracy and individual freedom. Delivering the Achyut Yagnik Memorial Lecture titled "The Idea of Civilization: Poison or Cure?" at the Ahmedabad Management Association, Mehta argued that India is currently witnessing a self-conscious political project that seeks to redefine the state not as a product of a modern constitution, but as an instrument of an ancient, authentic civilization.

Why experts say replacing MGNREGA could undo two decades of rural empowerment

By A Representative A group of scientists, academics, civil society organisations and field practitioners from India and abroad has issued an open letter urging the Union government to reconsider the repeal of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and to withdraw the newly enacted Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025. The letter, dated December 27, 2025, comes days after the VB–G RAM G Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 16 and subsequently approved by both Houses of Parliament, formally replacing the two-decade-old employment guarantee law.

Bangladesh in turmoil: Rising insecurity, sectarian forces gain ground

By Bharat Dogra Many who initially welcomed the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina are now reconsidering their stance. The reasons are stark. Law and order has deteriorated sharply, leaving large sections of the population—particularly political opponents—deeply vulnerable. Minorities report growing insecurity, with disturbing incidents of targeted violence. Inter-faith harmony is under unprecedented strain, while prospects for fair elections are fading as major political parties, including those with strong minority support, face exclusion and obstruction.

Gig workers’ strike halts platforms, union submits demands to Labour Ministry

By A Representative India’s gig economy witnessed an partial disruption on December 31, 2025, as a large number of delivery workers, app-based service providers, and freelancers across the country participated in a nationwide strike called by the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU). The strike, which followed days of coordinated protests, shut down major platforms including Zomato , Swiggy , Blinkit , Zepto , Flipkart , and BigBasket in several areas.

Search This Blog