This year West Bengal has scored better than before in indices for Ease of Doing Business: CEO, NITI Aayog

He also talked about various initiatives taken by the Centre in this respect that has pushed India’s position up by 42 places in World Bank rankings. 

Kant also said that over 900 multi-national companies have shifted their global innovation centres to India. 

He said that India, with its young population, requires certain reforms which have already been started by the Union government so as to take GDP growth rate to 9-10 percent in the coming decades.

At the same time, India needs to improve its gender parity and better participation of women in workforce which is much below the global average, he said.

NITI Aayog CEO also said that restructuring age-old institutions and governing bodies like Medical Council of India is also necessary.

Stating that the country needs more health specialists to serve in remote areas where there is still a shortage of doctors, the CEO of NITI Aayog said, seats for pursuing medical science and more facilities for training of para-medics and nurses has to come up in a big way just like it happened with engineering education in the recent past.

Speaking about measures to foster GDP growth, Kant said that simplification of procedures for registration of MSMEs and export houses, lesser human intervention and promoting digital connection, allowing FDI in various sectors, fostering an environment for innovation, start-ups and entrepreneurship, rapid growth in urbanisation and public transport system, digital transactions and tax reforms like GST are some of the steps initiated by the Union government.

“Government must act as a good facilitator," he said.

Since the implementation of Start-Up India, many women entrepreneurs and students have set-up their own ventures, according to Kant.

Highlighting the transportation system, Kant said that dedicated freight corridors are going to be inaugurated by 2018-end that will further boost up business by reducing transportation time.

Along with this, more airports and better road connectivity will ensure that India becomes logistically a very efficient country, he said.  

Health, nutrition and education are in focus of the Union government so as to improve the Human Development Index of the country, Kant said in his address.

Also, the 115 identified backward districts, also called aspirational districts are in focus of the Union government in this respect, Kant said.