Industries Minister K.T. Rama Rao exhorted the officials of different departments to intensify efforts to retain the top slot secured by the State in Ease Of Doing Business for the current year.
The Minister wanted the officials concerned to plan their efforts keeping in view the problems faced by the departments. The staff of the departments concerned should be educated about the efforts that were being made to secure the top rank in EODB and trained on the changes that should be made at the field level.
The Minister reviewed the department-wise progress on different parameters of EODB with senior officials on Thursday and stressed the need for ensuring that the changes proposed in the working of the departments were not confined to paper. When the officials brought to his notice the changes that should be made, he directed them to initiate immediate steps in that direction.
GST impact
Mr. Rama Rao, who is a member of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Major Industries, reviewed the impact of the implementation of the recently-introduced Goods and Services Tax regime. The meeting attended by senior officials from Finance, Industries, Revenue and other departments discussed the likely impact of the new regime on the incentives extended for industries in the State.
The Cabinet Sub-Committee has decided to rope in services of the best consultants for studying the impact of the GST on the State revenues so that the government could have a clear understanding of the issue. The study report, once submitted, would help Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao in taking some key decisions on different aspects of the GST implementation. A delegation of the Confederation of Indian Industry, which was present at the review meeting, assured the Cabinet Sub-Committee that a report on the measures initiated by different States as well as industry view would be submitted within two weeks.
Mr. Rama Rao, who reviewed the functioning of the mines department, wanted the officials concerned to cancel the leases granted to mining firms that did not commence operations within the stipulated time. Penalties could be levied on operational mines that could not reach their specific targets within the scheduled time-frame. In addition, resource auditing should be conducted on the limestone mines leased out in different parts of the State.
