Ease of Doing Business | Business Upturn

Commerce Ministry launches modern, integrated Department of Commerce website for exporters, importers

Rashmi Pandey — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:46:32 +0000

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has launched a modern, accessible and integrated website for the Department of Commerce on 15 April 2026, alongside a new bilingual mobile application, to strengthen trade‑related e‑governance and digital outreach. The initiative, announced through an official press information bulletin from PIB Delhi, is built to conform with the Digital Brand Identity Manual (DBIM) 3.0 and the Guidelines for Indian Government Websites (GIGW), ensuring a standards‑compliant, secure and user‑friendly online presence for the Department of Commerce (DoC).

The new website offers a centralised platform where exporters, importers and other stakeholders can access trade‑related information, notifications, policy documents and real‑time updates in a structured, easy‑to‑navigate format. A three‑level menu structure, custom display settings (font size, colour theme and language) and responsive layout make the site accessible on desktops as well as mobile devices, including for users with disabilities. The platform is also integrated with existing government digital services such as the CPGRAMS grievance‑redressal system and the Parliament portal, which automatically updates records of parliamentary questions and answers pertaining to the Department of Commerce without manual intervention.

In addition to the web portal, the Ministry has introduced a bilingual mobile application available on both Android and iOS, with offline‑access capability and GPS‑based features to help traders quickly locate trade‑related services and facilities. The app and website are connected to the Trade Intelligence & Analytics (TIA) portal, enabling live integration of territorial and commodity‑wise trade data that supports informed decision‑making. The Ministry has also put in place a provision for ongoing technical maintenance to ensure security, scalability and continuous improvement of the digital ecosystem.

Fear to trust: India simplifies laws under Jan Vishwas Bill 2026 to boost business‑friendly environment

Rashmi Pandey — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 13:24:43 +0000

Under the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026, India is overhauling its central‑laws compliance framework by decriminalising minor offences and shifting from punitive to trust‑based regulation. The legislation, which has been cleared by both Houses of Parliament and is now headed for the President’s assent, amends provisions across about‑80 central Acts administered by 23 ministries, with the government stating that 717 previously criminal‑punishable provisions are being converted into civil‑penalty‑based or administrative‑compliance mechanisms. The move follows the earlier Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, which had already decriminalised 183 provisions across 42 central laws.

The 2026 Bill targets “technical, procedural and minor lapses” in areas such as corporate compliance, metrology, customs, excise, environment, health, and trade‑related statutes, replacing prison terms or disproportionately harsh penalties with graded warning‑driven mechanisms, improvement notices, and monetary fines. For example, under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, failure to maintain or produce required records by an importer, especially MSME‑scale operators, will no longer trigger immediate penal action; instead the entity receives an improvement notice to correct the gap. The framework aims to distinguish clearly between will‑full non‑compliance that remains subject to stricter enforcement and minor procedural errors that can be remedied without criminalising business‑day‑to‑day operations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has framed the reforms as a core element of its “Ease of Doing Business” and “Ease of Living” agendas, noting that the 2026 version rationalises more than 1,000 offences and excises redundant or outdated penal clauses. The Bill’s architecture includes warnings for first‑time contraventions, graded escalation of fines based on severity, and standardised penalty structures so that penalties are proportionate to the nature and impact of the violation. Officials have emphasised that serious offences—such as large‑scale money‑laundering, tax‑fraud, or environmental‑damage‑related violations—continue to attract stronger sanctions, but the burden on exporters and MSMEs for minor compliance gaps is expected to fall sharply.

For MSMEs and exporters, the reforms are expected to translate into lower litigation risk, reduced regulatory fear of imprisonment, and faster resolution of inspection‑driven issues, which in turn supports supply‑chain predictability and smoother cross‑border trade. The government has already signalled that state‑level “Jan Vishwas”‑style initiatives, such as Delhi’s parallel bill, are being aligned with the central framework, creating a more uniform national‑level approach to minor‑offence decriminalisation.

Key highlights

Jan Vishwas Bill 2026 decriminalises 717 minor offences across 80 central laws.
Minor lapses now attract warnings and fines, not imprisonment.
MSMEs and exporters gain relief from criminal‑compliance fears.
Serious offences and will‑full violations still face strict penalties.
Reform is part of national “Ease of Doing Business” and “Ease of Living” push.

Digital push: NTWB chair welcomes Jan Vishwas Amendment, calls it boost for traders

Rashmi Pandey — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:26:33 +0000

The 9th Meeting of the National Traders’ Welfare Board (NTWB) was held on April 10, 2026, at Vanijya Bhawan in New Delhi under the chairmanship of NTWB Chairperson Sunil J. Singhi. Senior officials from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and representatives of national trader associations attended the session, which focused on regulatory reforms, inclusive trade policies, and digital empowerment for small traders and retailers.

Key discussions at the meeting

The Chairperson welcomed the passage of the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026, highlighting that the law will promote ease of doing business by removing criminal penalties for minor procedural lapses and replacing them with graded, non‑custodial enforcement mechanisms. The amendment, which amends 79 central laws and over 780 provisions across 23 ministries, is being presented as a measure to reduce compliance burden for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and traders.

In the area of digital empowerment, a detailed presentation was made by the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) team, outlining how the platform can help traders, especially small and medium businesses, access broader digital markets, logistics support, and payment solutions. The ONDC pitch emphasized the role of interoperable e‑commerce infrastructure in enabling price discovery, reducing customer acquisition costs, and integrating local shops into a pan‑India digital marketplace.

Board members were urged to carry these messages to trade bodies across India so that a wider spectrum of small traders can benefit from simplified compliance and digital‑commerce opportunities under current government initiatives.

Key highlights

9th NTWB meeting in New Delhi.
Chairperson welcomes Jan Vishwas Amendment.
Amendment promotes ease of doing business.
ONDC presentation on digital empowerment.
Traders urged to adopt digital tools.

FDI inflows increases by 62% during the first four months of F.Y. 2021-22 as compared to the previous year

Keertiman Upadhyay — Wed, 22 Sep 2021 12:48:53 +0000

Policies & measures introduced by the Government for the advancement of FDI have shown a positive result as there is an increase in the FDI inflows into the country. India has also emerged as one of the most preferred investment destinations due to the ease of doing business.

In the first four months of F.Y. 2021-22, the total FDI inflow was $ 27.37 billion which is 62% higher as compared to the FDI of F.Y. 2020-21 which was $ 16.92 billion. The FDI equity inflow also grew by 112% in the F.Y. 2021-22.

Automobile Industry emerged on the top with a 23% share in the total FDI equity inflow during the first four months of F.Y. 2021-22 followed by an 18% share of Computer Software & Hardware and a 10% share of Services Sector respectively. Karnataka proved to be the best-performing state in the Automobile sector with 87% of FDI equity inflow during the first four months of F.Y. 2021-22.

The state of Karnataka also emerged as the top recipient state during the F.Y. 2021-22 till July with a 45% share of the total FDI equity inflows. Maharashtra and Delhi ranked 2nd & 3rd with the total FDI equity inflows of 23% & 12% respectively.

Ease of doing business ranking for states and UTs to be released by March 2021: DPIIT

Nivedya P T — Sun, 06 Sep 2020 14:43:54 +0000

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has started the exercise for the ranking of states and Union Territories in terms of ease of doing business for the next year, according to a top government official.

DPIIT Secretary Guruprasad Mohapatra said that the ease of doing business of states and UTs for next year would be released by March 2021. “We have started the exercise already. We have communicated the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) for next year with the states/UTs, which they have to implement,” he said, according to PTI.

Last year, the department had identified 181 reform points and for 2021, it has shared 301 such points with the states and UTs.

So far, rankings which started in 2015 have been released for 2015, 2016, 2017-18 and 2019 and is based on the implementation of BRAP and feedback received. The action plan covers12 business regulatory areas such as access to information, a single-window system, labour, and the environment and this exercise is expected to promote competition among states with a view to improving the business climate in order to attract domestic as well as foreign investments.

To help states which are progressing at a slower pace, Mohapatra said that “for next year, we have sent the reform agenda and we plan to engage with them in select groups, region wise. We will hold several rounds of meetings with them” thus helping them to improve the ranking.

Andhra Pradesh has topped the chart for the third time in a row as per the 2019 rankings, released on September 5. Registering a jump of 10 places in the rankings, Uttar Pradesh occupied the second position in 2019 as against 12th in 2018.

Telangana fell to the third position from second in 2018. Among the laggard states and UTs in the ranking, Bihar was at 26th, Kerala 28th place, Manipur (31), Meghalaya (32), Nagaland (33), Odisha (34), Sikkim(35) and Tripura (36).

The borrowing limit of states from 3 per cent of gross state domestic product (GSDP) to 5 per cent in 2020-21have also been raised by the centre on May 17, which will make available an additional Rs 4.28 trillion.

“We are going much beyond the World Bank’s rankings. Reducing compliance burden is the major exercise we are doing now,” he added.

India not likely to be affected by World Bank’ Ease of Doing Business report

Chittesh Dalmia — Sat, 29 Aug 2020 08:46:41 +0000

India’s ease of business ranking by World Bank (WB) would not affect the commercial environment in the country.

On Thursday, the WB said it has paused publication of the Doing Business (DB) report due in October and is undertaking a review of the data changes in the last five reports after discovering a number of irregularities.

“We will act based on the findings and retrospectively correct data of countries that were most affected by the irregularities,” it said.

The World Bank’s reports were pulled up in controversy in the past with former chief economist Paul Romer resigning from his post in January 2018, claiming that the methodological changes in compiling the report led to a downgrade in socialist Chile’s ranking.

India benefitted from methodological changes, Kaushik Basu who supervised the reports during 2012-16 as the chief economist of WB had said,

“For example, when India moved from 142 to 130 between 2014 and 2015, the DB team and I computed that only four of the 12 positions that India had climbed reflected changes India had made, with the remainder attributable to changes in the DB methodology,” Basu wrote in an article published on Project Syndicate in February 2018.

India’s ranking improved from 142 in 2014 to 63 in 2019, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi making concentrated efforts to improve its business competitiveness in the country.

Kaushik Basu defended the reports, “Although there were aspects of the DB rankings I did not like, I do not find the charges of data rigging to be credible. Having personally supervised much of the process, which involves a very large team compiling economic data from around the world, I can vouch for the multiple layers of checks and balances in place,”.

NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant recently said that India aims to be among the top 50 countries by 2021.