Challenge

The Government of Gujarat wanted to streamline processes to attract investors to the state

The government of Gujarat, a state in western India, wanted to redefine its investment approach to improve the ease of doing business in the state. A key focus area of the state government, therefore, was to demonstrate to the domestic and global business community the intent to create an investor friendly climate.

Making the state conducive for business entailed ensuring favorable experience for investors across the lifecycle of setting up a new business or expanding an existing one. This meant:

• Ensuring the availability and accessibility of information as well as ease of securing necessary clearances prior to establishment
• Supporting with investment grounding through time-bound approvals prior to commencement
• Streamlining clearances and compliances during the normal course of business, post commencement

To this end, the state wanted to implement a robust and transparent single window clearance platform to simplify and rationalize regulatory processes, thereby providing an optimal roadmap to commission businesses and allow investors to secure statutory clearances on time.

The state government was challenged with duplication in data across various authorities (such as land, transport, and so on) due to the unavailability of a common platform. The management of investor requests at multiple sources was as time-taking and laborious as it was inefficient and error-prone. Also, there was no central view of the pipeline of investment proposals, which led to inordinate delays and general dissatisfaction among all stakeholders – government authorities and public departments, regulators, and investors.

Solution

TCS’ DigiGOV™ Ease of Doing Business solution streamlines investment related processes.

Recognizing the need for a holistic response management system that addresses the concerns of all stakeholders in the investment value chain, TCS stepped in with its TCS DigiGOV Ease of Doing Business (EODB) solution.

The solution enables a single window clearance platform and streamlines the process of applying for regulatory approvals, while minimizing the uncertainty associated with the time it takes to obtain clearances. Integrated with   common forms, digital payment infrastructure, and online query processing, the solution facilitates SLA driven clearances, accelerated tracking, and inspections, thereby promoting ease of doing business.

TCS’ solution has ensured seamless data exchange across approval authorities and system driven enforcement of policies through rule-based checklists, providing full visibility to investors  and ensuring a symmetric experience for all stakeholders.

The solution comes integrated with a dashboard that allows authorities to view progress of an application, monitor information accuracy, and ensure rapid information dissemination to investors. The portal also houses guideline documents to help prospective investors understand the application process and pre-determine or forecast future requirements.

The Gujarat government has been successfully using TCS’ DigiGOV Ease of Doing Business solution for over a decade. Building on this success, TCS is working with other states and government agencies to replicate the model and make the whole of India conducive to businesses – big and small.

Benefits

With DigiGOV Ease of Doing Business solution, Gujarat has become a business hotspot.

The state of Gujarat has transformed into a land of opportunity and growth where investors from across the globe flock to. The single window system has brought about ease of doing business in the state through:

• Seamless data exchange across more than 25 departments and 300 services
• Transparency in business regulation
• A Dynamic investment roadmap for interested parties
• A simplified application process
• Centralized accountability system for approvals
• End-to-end integration with various authorities to ensure timely closure
• Parallel approvals in less than a week instead of months