Simplified laws make Kerala an ideal state for aspiring businessmen

Starting a business from scratch is not an easy task. Just ask any of the thousands of wannabe business owners who take the plunge into the uncertain world of entrepreneurship every year. Within just a few months of planning, more than half of these business aspirants will drop the plan, a testament to how difficult it is to start a business, let alone sustaining it.

For those businessmen in Kerala, however, there is nothing to worry, for the state government has made everything easy for you. Kerala enacted seven new laws and 10 amendments to existing laws, making the state industrial-friendly. If one wants to start an enterprise, they can make it with a single window clearance.

Kerala Single Window Interface for Fast and Transparent clearance for industrial projects has been one huge step towards simplifying business procedures. It is a website-based application developed by the government, making it possible for entrepreneurs to carry out transactions with the government through a single window. An appealing outcome of the system is that aspiring businessmen don't have to wait long for licences and approvals.

Now anyone can start an enterprise in the state with a self-written affidavit and one needs to get the clearance only in a stipulated time frame of three years. However, once the stipulated period is over, it is mandatory to have all the necessary papers in hand if they need to continue their business. Even during the pandemic period, more than 3,000 people have used this facility to start a business. For projects worth Rs 100 crore, one can start the business in a week and the licence period has been raised from three years to five years.

Per Single Window Clearance Act, the existing district board will be the nodal agency, to which the application for starting the business has to be submitted. District collector is president and district industry centre convener is the general manager. The authority will approve enterprises that do not fall within the red list. Based on the pollution level, ventures are classified into white, green, orange and red categories. If the businessman infringes on the law, they will have to pay a fine up to Rs 5 lakh as compensation.

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