Starting and running a business in the country often becomes very difficult for people due to paperwork, permits, licenses and sudden inspections. To end this problem, a high level committee of NITI Aayog has suggested a big step, which will end the inspection raj.
NITI Aayog’s planning says that the rules should be simplified by showing confidence in people and businessmen, so that business can increase, government interference can be reduced and the country’s economy can become stronger. Now let us know what is actually there in this proposal and how will people benefit from it?
A high level committee of NITI Aayog has advised to bring major reforms in the rules and regulations of the country. This committee is being led by member and former Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba. The committee believes that the cumbersome system of licenses, permits and NOCs that has been running in the country for years has now become a burden for the people. Therefore, the report suggests that these unnecessary approvals should be eliminated to a large extent and Inspector Raj should be abolished. He says that where the law does not explicitly prohibit, there should be no need for permission.
small tasks done without permission
Our partner website Moneycontrol has published an exclusive report on this. According to this report, the committee also made it clear that a license should be sought only when the matter is related to national security, public health, environment or very large public interest. There should be no need to take prior permission for small tasks. This will significantly reduce the burden of time and money on common people and small businessmen.
It was told in the report that the process of registration should also be very easy. This should be only for record keeping or data management, not for detaining people. The option of self-registration should be generally available, and the validity of the license should generally be perpetual. Validity of 5 to 10 years can be maintained only in special circumstances, such as security or environment.
Officials should not suddenly arrive at the factory and investigate.
The committee’s suggestion regarding inspection is unique and modern. He says that now the officers should not suddenly reach the shop or factory and investigate. Instead, the help of random selection should be taken through computer based system, and the work of investigation should be given to an accredited third party, so that transparency is maintained.
The report also urged that the government set a fixed date in the year on which changes in the rules come into effect. With this, businessmen can be protected from sudden changes in rules. Before implementing new policies, it has been said that it is necessary to talk to all the stakeholders and give them time to prepare.
Another important thing is that now the government will do regulatory impact assessment of all the rules. This simply means that before implementing any new rule, it will be seen how much it will cost the businessmen to comply with it and how much effort and cost will be required for the government to implement it. This will avoid making unnecessary and expensive rules.
Suggestion of changes regarding punishment also
Major changes have also been suggested regarding punishment. The committee clearly says that “small technical mistakes should not lead to jail or criminal punishment.” Jail or heavy fines should be imposed only in cases where there could be serious harm to human health, national security or the environment. Apart from this, the punishment related sections present in all the old laws should be reviewed according to the modern needs.
The most important change is that the entire system should be digitally enabled. That means all documents should be submitted online, data can be shared between departments, and data once given should not be asked for again. For this, ministries will have to issue APIs, so that government databases can easily connect with each other.
According to the report, the purpose of all these suggestions is to increase trust between the government and the citizens. The committee claims that if these reforms are adopted, doing business in the country will become easier than ever, transparency will increase and a modern regulatory framework will be created which will provide a strong foundation for the coming generations.
