Feb. 1 – This week, Minister for Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma launched India’s first ever Government-to-Business (G2B) online portal, called eBiz. This portal will provide a one-stop, round-the-clock platform for business and investment-related information and services in India. eBiz represents a key paradigm shift in the Indian government’s approach to providing services for investors.
“The project aims to create a business and investor-friendly ecosystem in India by making all business and investment related regulatory services across Central, State and local Governments available on a single portal, thereby obviating the need for an investor or a business to visit multiple offices or a plethora of websites,” said Minister Sharma.
Currently ranked 132nd out 185 countries in the International Finance Corporation’s Ease of Doing Business Index, eBiz will do much to provide international investors a central platform for its regulatory services. Now, a single application that is submitted for clearance or registration will be routed at once automatically across multiple governmental departments and agencies.
“The portal will also be a gateway to obtain services related to planning, starting and operating businesses across the country, including licenses, approvals, clearance, no objection certificates, permits and filing returns,” said V. Balakrishnan, a board member of the IT firm that developed the eBiz platform in conjunction with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
eBiz’s services will be rolled out in phases over the next 10 years. During the first year of the initial three-year pilot phase, 29 services will be unveiled in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. By the end of the pilot phase five more states will be included in eBiz and an additional 21 services will be unveiled. From the fourth year onwards, eBiz will have more than 200 additional services rolled-out across the country.
eBiz represents a further strategy that the Indian government has implemented that seeks to encourage greater investment into India.
“We are firmly committed to wide-ranging initiatives aimed at fostering the business environment in the country in a holistic manner. Our approach includes leveraging technology to bring transparency, improve efficiency and promote convenience,” reaffirmed Minister Sharma.
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