Parliamentary Committee on Commerce Presents 201st Report on Ease of Doing Business
The Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce, headed by Ms. Dola Sen, MP, Rajya Sabha, presented its 201st Report titled 'Doing Business in India: The Way Forward' to both Houses of Parliament on August 7, 2026. The report assesses the effectiveness of ongoing business reforms, identifies bottlenecks faced by stakeholders, and suggests measures to strengthen India's business ecosystem after examining the subject through four meetings spanning 8 hours and 11 minutes with various government departments and industry stakeholders.
Key Government Initiatives and Compliance Reforms
The Committee noted that under the Reducing Compliance Burden initiative, DPIIT has coordinated with Central Ministries and States/UTs to simplify procedures, remove redundant provisions, digitize approvals and inspections, and decriminalize minor technical defaults, resulting in over 47,000 compliances across Central and State legislations being reduced, simplified, digitized, or decriminalized. The Committee recommended periodic third-party evaluations of these reforms and strengthening the Regulatory Compliance Portal with real-time grievance redressal and performance metrics. Specific recommendations include merging redundant or overlapping licenses, transitioning to automated Joint Site Inspection frameworks, and developing sector-specific compliance roadmaps in consultation with industry and State Governments.
Approval Process Reforms and Timeline Adherence
The Committee observed that fragmented regulations and multiple approvals at Central and State levels cause delays and increase business costs. To address this, they recommended rationalizing and consolidating regulatory frameworks by adopting risk-based regulations and increasing self-certification and third-party certification. The Committee strongly recommended that all licenses, approvals, permissions, and renewals across Central, State, and local authorities should be granted within clearly defined timelines with provision for deemed approval automatically generated via the National Single Window System upon expiration of Service Level Agreements. They further recommended automatic renewals for businesses with clean track records and prescribed clear timelines for government refunds, project approvals, fund disbursements, and subsidies with compensatory payments for delays.
National Single Window System Enhancements
The Committee noted that Single Window Systems have been implemented in most States and Union Territories and are integrated with NSWS through API-based linkages. They recommended making NSWS the exclusive platform for all regulatory approvals/renewals from Central Ministries, with mandatory onboarding of all remaining Ministries, Departments and State/UT authorities within a time-bound framework. The Committee proposed that every provision on NSWS should mandatorily indicate timelines with deemed approval provisions and include a centralized real-time dashboard with published timelines and penalties for non-adherence, along with a dynamic scoring and ranking mechanism for Ministries and States.
Decriminalization and Business Ready Framework
The Committee noted the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 marked a significant shift toward trust-based governance by decriminalizing minor offences across several Central Acts, and the 2026 Bill represents a major step toward modernizing India's regulatory framework. They recommended aligning Indian business regulations with OECD nations by replacing criminal penalties with civil oversight for minor administrative errors and implementing a mandatory "Ease of Doing Business Impact Assessment" for all future departmental notifications to prevent re-criminalization. Regarding the Business Ready (B-READY) framework, the Committee recommended creating an online 'B-READY Reform Dashboard' to track real-time regulatory compliance across all Ministries and establishing dedicated, fully digitized Commercial Courts in major industrial clusters to resolve contract disputes within prescribed time limits.
Sector-Specific Recommendations
The report contained extensive recommendations for specific sectors including logistics, where they suggested seamless integration of digital platforms across Customs, ports, airports, and railways through a unified single-window system, and formulating a uniform national policy for warehousing standards across States. For MSME credit access, the Committee recommended strengthening formalization through Udyam platforms, expanding credit guarantee mechanisms, and leveraging RBI's Account Aggregator network for data-driven, cash-flow-based lending. They also recommended that RBI issue guidelines to uniformly ban foreclosure and pre-payment charges for all micro and small enterprise loans.
For e-commerce, the Committee recommended strict enforcement of labor welfare provisions, linking OSH&WC Code enforcement with the Code on Social Security, and creating technology-driven inspection frameworks for dark stores. They also suggested regulatory checks on dynamic pricing to prevent artificial price inflation based on consumer data and upgrading digital grievance redressal platforms with automated Online Dispute Resolution mechanisms.
The Committee provided specific recommendations for Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, including operationalizing time-bound single-window clearance systems, automating disbursement of incentives through NSWS integration, and providing special financial and policy relaxations for local enterprises considering unique constraints.
Implementation and Way Forward
The Committee emphasized that with stronger inter-ministerial coordination, deeper State-level engagement, time-bound implementation tracking, and outcome-based governance, India can significantly enhance its business environment. They recommended regular capacity-building programs for municipal officers, inspectors, and regulatory personnel backed by independent third-party impact assessments to address emerging skill gaps as industries transition toward clean technologies, automation, and digital platforms.