Rajasthan's plug and play policy to boost manufacturing
Rajasthan is planning to build manufacturing facilities, where manufacturers can directly move in the machinery and start production. The plug and play policy is expected to boost manufacturing, as the built in spaces already have basic facilities such as electricity, water, etc. and eliminates the need for complicated processes such as land acquisition. The state will now invite bids for these facilities.
Rajasthan (literally 'the land of kings') is the largest state of India, with 10.4% of India's land area and a population of 7.3 crores. Located in the North-western India, agriculture, tourism, and mining are the major economic activities of the state. The Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, 40% of which passes through the state, will improve impoverished conditions and promote industrial activities.
In order to promote industrial development of the state, the state government is taking various initiatives. Rajasthan was the first state in the country to reform the complex labour laws last year to reduce micro-management and bureaucratic hurdles, and promote flexibility. It has also passed some progressive land legislations, such as the land pooling scheme bill, providing statutory backing to land records, etc.
Rajasthan had been ranked 6th in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) report, "Assessment of State Implementation of Business Reforms". Rajasthan has been put under the 'Aspiring Leaders' category due to the number of investor-friendly initiatives taken by the state. It was ranked 3rd in complying with environmental procedures and registering and complying with tax procedures.
The plug and play model will help the small and medium enterprises who do not want to go through the whole process of land acquisition, building factories, etc. Rajasthan is attracting investments in labour-intensive industries such as garments, gems and jewellery, IT and other non-polluting manufacturing to promote employment generation. It has already identified 6 locations with up to 40,000sqm size for ready-made factories.
Rajasthan is also revamping the single window clearance system to reduce human interference and is introducing a tracking system for smoothening the approval process for investors, in a bid to further improve ease of doing business.
