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'This will spur job creation and unleash animal spirits.'
Archis Mohan reports.
Congress national President Rahul Gandhi says a key promise of his party's manifesto, to be unveiled in the coming days, would relate to helping the MSME sector.
A Congress government at the Centre, he says, will allow any person to start a business with nearly no government permission required for three years.
Earlier this month, the Congress government in Rajasthan notified an ordinance to facilitate the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) sector in starting new projects.
It notified the facilitation of establishment and operation ordinance to enable businesspersons to set up factories by filling up a self-declaration form.
Other necessary approvals would need to be sought from the government within six months of the expiry of the three-year period.
Congress research team head M V Rajeev Gowda, a member of the party's manifesto drafting committee, says the Congress promises to "liberate entrepreneurs, MSMEs, and start-ups from inspector raj."
"They will be exempt from all applicable laws and regulations (except Minimum Wages Act and tax laws) for three years or, for new businesses, from the date of commencement," Gowda adds.
For its manifesto drafting exercise, the Congress reached out to several MSME businesspersons who complained of having suffered because of the double whammy of demonetisation and the goods and services tax.
"Our MSMEs need this healing touch after demonetisation and GST. This will spur job creation and unleash animal spirits," Gowda, a Rajya Sabha member, said.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced the move for his state on March 4, and the ordinance notified a couple of days later.
While announcing the step, Gehlot said the newly notified norms allow businesspersons to start a new enterprise 'with mere self-declarations and would not have to seek any approval or inspection of any department for the next three years.'
Gehlot said this would save them from 'hardship of legal and administrative scrutiny of government departments'.
Simplifying the process of establishing new businesses would save time, efforts and resources of entrepreneurs, Gehlot said, and hoped the step would attract more investment in Rajasthan.
Rajasthan's Bureau of Investment Promotion is the nodal agency at the state level and the district industries centres at the district level respectively.
