BRAP and B Ready Index Insights II Current Affairs for UPSC

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Context:

In its next version of state business readiness rankings, the 2024 Business Reform Action Plan rankings prepared by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade will include some of the indicators tracked by the World Bank's B-READY index.

Business Reform Action Plan

In order to facilitate convenience for businesses and citizens alike throughout the nation, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, announced the Business Reforms Action Plan in 2015.

The program goals

The program's goals include: Enhancing the ease of doing business, Strengthening the "Make in India" initiative, encouraging competition between states and Reducing industry compliance burdens.

Implementation

The program is implemented in partnership with state and union territory governments.

Nodal Department

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry releases the BRAP annually.

The DPIIT also launched an online portal in 2016 to serve as a central hub for regulatory compliance information.

So far, assessments of states/UTs have been released for the years 2015, 2016, 2017-18, 2019 and 2022.

BRAP, 2022

The Action Plan under BRAP, 2022 consists of 352 recommendations covering reforms relating to Business and Citizens.

List of Reforms

a. BRAP 2022 has 352 reforms, divided into two parts – Action Plan A comprises 261 reforms relating to Business while Action Plan B comprises 91 reforms relating to Citizens.

b. Reforms are classified as General and Specific reforms

General reforms are those reforms, where there is no specific user. For example, Information wizard, digitization of land records, etc.
Specific reforms are those wherein there is a clearly identifiable user. For example, electricity connection, trade licence, etc.

c. Grouping of States/UTs

For the purpose of assessment and evaluation under BRAP 2022, all the States/UTs will be grouped into the following two categories:

Category X	North-Eastern States (except Assam) and UTs (except Delhi)
Category Y	States/ UTs with well-established Business and Citizen centric Systems.

Evaluation

In 2022, there was a shift from one uniform ranking to category category-wise evaluation for providing insights into category-wise leaders.

All the States/ UTs in their respective categories were grouped into four grades based on the percentage score ranges. A percentage score indicates how well a State or UT has performed in comparison to other States or UTs. The States/UTs with similar percentage score ranges were graded in a common group.

Accordingly, four percentage-based grades (indicative) are as follows:

TOP ACHIEVERS: Above 95%
ACHIEVERS: 90% to 95%
FAST MOVERS: 80% to 90%
ASPIRERS: Below 80%

B-READY Report

Background:

The World Bank was compelled to revoke its prestigious Ease of Doing Business ranking in 2021 following the discovery of data anomalies and bias in favour of China.
Additionally, it was mentioned that data anomalies elevated the rankings of other nations, such as Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
The World Bank revealed enhanced security measures and a new approach for evaluating the business climate in up to 180 nations.
The "Business Ready (B-READY) 2024 report" is the pilot edition of the new yearly series that will be released in the spring of 2024.

About Business Ready (B-READY) 2024 report

It assesses the regulatory framework and the efficiency with which the regulatory framework is working.

The B-READY rankings will commence in 2024 but India will only participate in the exercise in 2026.

It will be used by the Global financial institutions and multinational companies as a benchmark to understand the regulatory and policy environment of a country.

It will be published annually.

Coverage:

The first set of rankings will feature 54 countries, with the 2025 report covering 120 economies and the 2026 version having rankings on 180 economies.

Pillars:

It has three main pillars: regulatory framework, public services, and efficiency.

Approach:

The index incorporates digitalization, environmental sustainability, and gender equality into each indicator, ensuring a holistic and forward-thinking approach to business evaluation.

Parameters:

It tracks ten parameters covering a firm’s lifecycle from starting, operating, closing, and reorganising.

Important articles for reference;

Business Ready (B-READY) 2024 report

World Bank Group Sources:

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/economy/govt-looking-to-align-some-indicators-of-indias-brap-2024-index-with-the-world-banks-b-ready-index-12835460.html#google_vignette

https://eodb.dpiit.gov.in/

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q.Consider the following statements about the “Business Ready (B-READY) 2024 report ” recently seen in the news:

It assesses the regulatory framework and the efficiency with which the regulatory framework is working.
It is an annual report used by the Global financial institutions and multinational companies as a benchmark to understand the regulatory and policy environment of a country.
It has three pillars and five parameters.

How many of the above statements is/are correct?

A.Only one

B.Only two

C. All Three

D.None

Answer: B

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct:

It assesses the regulatory framework and public services directed at firms, and the efficiency with which regulatory framework and public services are combined in practice.