Metro India News | AMARAVATI

Cabinet Secretary Dr. TV Somanathan held a video conference with Chief Secretaries from across the country on Tuesday to discuss the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) reforms. The meeting was part of the ongoing efforts to streamline business regulations and reduce compliance burdens for investors and industries.

During the National Conference of Chief Secretaries chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December last year, it was decided to establish a Deregulation Cell within the Cabinet Secretariat. This cell, led by a Secretary-level Coordinating Officer, aims to assist states in simplifying and reforming regulations related to EoDB. Additionally, a Committee of Secretaries under the leadership of the Cabinet Secretary was set up to function as a task force on compliance reduction and deregulation.

As part of this initiative, Cabinet Secretary Somanathan emphasized the need for adequate support from states to ensure the Deregulation Cell's effectiveness. He informed the Chief Secretaries that a special task force committee comprising senior officials has been constituted by the Central Government. From March, this committee will visit various states, during which Chief Secretaries have been advised to organize interdepartmental meetings to facilitate discussions on compliance reduction. The Cabinet Secretary also welcomed innovative regulatory reforms implemented by different states.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary K. Vijayanand, speaking at the conference, highlighted the state's commitment to reducing compliance burdens under the EoDB framework. He stated that Andhra Pradesh has eliminated 632 compliance requirements across more than 60 regulations, significantly easing the business environment.

He further explained that the state had regained momentum in its Compliance Burden Reduction Program over the past year. To ensure continuous monitoring and implementation of the reforms, the Andhra Pradesh government has set up an Empowered Committee (EC) headed by the Chief Secretary. This committee reviews compliance reduction proposals from various departments and issues necessary orders.

Vijayanand also stated that Andhra Pradesh is prioritizing business reforms through its Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP), Reduction of Compliance Burden (RCB), and Minimizing Regulatory Compliance Burden (MRCB) programs, with the goal of making the state India’s most attractive investment destination. He noted that since the beginning of 2025, more than 60 burdensome compliances have been removed across seven departments, and further streamlining efforts are underway.

The Chief Secretary directed state departments to complete all remaining compliance reductions by the first week of March. He also mentioned that a central government team would visit Andhra Pradesh in early March to review the state's progress in EoDB reforms. The team will assess best practices and share valuable recommendations from global regulatory frameworks.

Several senior officials from Andhra Pradesh participated in the video conference, including Special Chief Secretaries Anantharam, B. Rajasekhar, and Vani Prasad, Principal Secretaries Mukesh Kumar Meena, Shashi Bhushan Kumar, and S. Suresh Kumar, and Secretaries Dr. N. Yuvraj, M.M. Nayak, and Saurav Gaur.