To improve ease of doing business in India a Simplified Proforma for Incorporating a Company Electronically (SPICe) e-form is to be implemented by December 2016. The main objective of launching this e-format proforma is to provide speedy incorporation related services within a stipulated timeframe, in line with international best practices, said Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India.

As the Chairperson at the plenary session on ‘Ease-of-Doing Business: NexGen Reforms’ at the India Telecom 2016 organized by the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications and FICCI, Abhishek said that the existing INC-29 was not being used; hence SPICe will be the sole, simplified and versatile form available for incorporation of a company in India.

Abhishek said that India ranked 130th in the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Business’ ranking, an improvement of one rank from the last year, which meant there was a long way to go. Hence the government was working towards dismantling complex processes to create a business-friendly climate in India.

Speaking about the recently released ease of doing ranking of the states, Abhishek said that a feedback mechanism would be included in the state rankings. The state ranking reflected that the Centre and state governments were working in tandem to improve the business climate in the country.

Elaborating on the various initiatives undertaken by the government, Abhishek said that efforts were being made to reduce physical touch points between the government and private sector interactions with the use of technology to expedite the process of granting licenses and clearances.

Abhishek said that the government has already set up commercial benches in high courts and would soon set up more such courts and e-courts which would move India to paperless courts. Also, India aims to become the arbitration hub and was working towards it. He added that with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 and GST roll-out next April, the business environment will improve in India.

The panelists at the session were P Balaji, Director – Regulatory, External Affairs & CSR, Vodafone India Ltd; Ankhi Das, Public Policy Director, Facebook -India, South & Central Asia; Chandrima Sinha, Vice President, Invest India; Swati Rangachari, Chief of Corporate Affairs, Sterlite Technologies Ltd.; ‎ R.K Upadhyay, Director, Virtual Network Operators Association of India (VNOAI); Pankaj Mohindroo, President, Indian Cellular Association and Vikram Tiwathia, Deputy Director General, Cellular Operators Association of India.

The session was moderated by Ashok Sud, Secretary General, Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI). The two-day India Telecom concluded with an Open House Session, where J S Deepak, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, Government of India; N Sivasailam, Additional Secretary (T), Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, along with other senior DoT officials addressed the questions raised by the delegates.