According To This World Bank's Report Gujarat And Andhra Pradesh Are India's Best Places For Business.

Gujarat, the state Prime Minister Narendra Modi ran for more than a decade, is India's best place for conducting business, the World Bank said on Monday, in a report that ranks the country's states in an effort to encourage them to cut red tape.

Gujarat: best place for conducting business

"The growth of business in India requires concerted action on several fronts - infrastructure, capital markets, trade facilitation and skills," said Onno Ruhl, the World Bank's India director. "The stark reality is that India remains a difficult place to do business."

The effort is part of the government's initiatives to improve India's position on the World Bank's 'Ease of Doing Business' ranking. India is 142nd on he list of 189 countries. The government wants India to breaking into the top 50 at the earliest. It expects to make it to the top 100 in the next ranking.  States were given six months to improve business environment based on 98 parameters in December, after the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) got states on board for this initiative. DIPP then collected data on the steps implemented, asking 285 questions to all states and union territories in June this year. The information was reviewed by KPMG and World Bank for the final assessment of states.

Monday's report suggested that such steps as offering single-window clearances for administrative approvals, if followed by all states, could improve India's global ranking.

Reforms have changed how India does business 

It said that states -- including the top five, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh -- had implemented reforms in online tax payments, construction, permits, electricity connections and environmental clearances in a specified time.

Rajasthan – sixth among 29 states

However, the states should set up electronic courts, and reforms relating to labour laws, land allotment and property registrations, the report said. "This is a defining moment for Rajasthan because improving our ease of doing business directly accelerates job creation for our youth," said Vasundhara Raje, the chief minister of Rajasthan. The state was ranked sixth among 29 states. Modi's government has taken several pro-business steps, such as rolling back plans to tax foreign companies and allowing them to invest more in insurance, defence, banks and other sectors.

Gujarat topped the list with a score of 71.14 percent

How are India's 32 states and union territories ranked?

The key parameters include:

1. Setting up of business

2. allotment of land

3. labour reforms 

4. procedure for environmental clearance.

The North East is at the bottom

Arunachal Pradesh fares the worst, followed by Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Tripura and Assam. Then there's J&K, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh and Uttarakhand.

Punjab is best for setting up a business

Punjab leads all other business friendly states. "Remarkably, Punjab is the only State in which the single window system allows application for all of the licenses studied in this assessment, although some others come very close," the report says. 

Gujarat leads environmental procedure compliance

Gujarat scores a whopping 100% for environmental compliance, followed by Andhra Pradesh (85.19 percent score).

Jharkhand leads India's labour regulation compliance

"Jharkhand’s Labour Department is the only one in the country to score 100% on all four parameters studied in this assessment across all 7 processes. Andhra Pradesh also deserves a mention as the Labour Department provides clear information, timelines and online solutions, but lack downloadable and verifiable certificates," the report said

Maharashtra is best for securing infrastructure

infrastructure utilities are easiest sourced in Maharashtra (88.89%) followed by Gujarat (75%) 

Gujarat led business environmental inspections

Inspections under the Water Act and the Air Act saw Gujarat come out first. "The only other State that has implemented computerised risk assessment for environmental inspections is Maharashtra," the report said. 

Dispute resolution: Delhi and Maharashtra are doing something about it

"Only 2 States – Delhi and Maharashtra – have introduced specialized commercial courts, and only Gujarat has made available model contract templates and guidelines on the department website." The leader? Maharashtra  at 55.56%.

(Inputs from Reuters, The Economic Times and Kunal Anand)

Change in Season, Change in Routine

Adapting to change requires extra energy. With the carefree days of summer coming to an end and the fall season looming before us, children getting ready to return to school, people start to buckle down to prepare for winter - all this requires changes to our routine. Too much change can lead to negative stress and poor health. Think of yourself as a rechargeable battery with so much energy to spend at any given time. When the energy is used up, we have to recharge it by taking rest which restores our batteries. Regular routines require less energy and our batteries last longer. But when we have changes in our habits, we use extra energy called "adaptive" energy. Think about the time you moved into a new house. Things you used to take for granted, for example, the location of your vacuum cleaner or where to hang certain jackets or even where the light switches are, now require thought. We've all been there. What is easy in the old house requires thinking in the new.

When we have too much adapting to do at any one time, we can feel tired and get cranky. Perhaps you have just moved, changed jobs, and you have to get the children ready to return to school. We can feel uptight, stretched like a rubber band and lose our patience with others.

What can we do when we're too stretched? Here are three simple strategies for managing our way through a change in season requiring a change in routine.

Strategy #1: make a list of action items.

1. Brainstorm - a simple and easy strategy is to take out a piece of paper and write down everything you have to do in the upcoming week. I find doing this on a Sunday while looking at the week ahead works best for me.

2. Categories - next, list these action items into categories. That's all you have to do. You don't need to put a priority to your list or allocate time required to perform your actions. Just list them under your categories. For example:

Week of: September 12

Category #1: Meetings

1. Parent/Teacher

2. Doctor's appointment

3. Interview with George

Category #2: Personal

1. cardio class - 4 x

2. spa - fall tune up special

3. girl friends over

Category #3: Household

1. Clean out storage

2. Get bedroom painted

3. Prepare for BBQ

Category #4: Calls/Emails

1. Mom

2. Gail, Sue, Sarah

3. Business contacts

4. Workshop participants

3. Review - tape this list to the bulletin board, refrigerator, or place it in your day timer. Don't worry about when you're doing these things. The list will make you conscious of the actions required. At the end of the week, review how you did. You'll be amazed!

Strategy #2: Build in rest and repair. 

When we have too many demands on our time, we are in overdrive and the body is in the sympathetic state of alert. When we stay too long in the sympathetic alert state using too much energy, we burn out. Burning out leads to diminished health and wellbeing and we start a downward spiral leading to more stress.

The best way to prevent burnout is to do the opposite. Build in some gaps between activities and move in the direction of under-drive. How can you do this? Give yourself a break; go to the spa and have health and beauty treatments. Slow down. Close your eyes and relax. Have a reflexology treatment, for example. Reflexology is a natural healing art based on the principle that there are reflexes in the hands, feet, and ears that correspond to every part, gland and organ in the body. When having a reflexology treatment, the body naturally goes into the parasympathetic state of rest and repair where tension is relaxed, circulation is increased, and the body can normalize naturally. Be sure to get your nails done after the treatment - a great way to be forced into sitting and letting the circulation benefits get registered in the nervous system.

Too many demands and pressures, too often and too long, use us up until like the stretched out rubber band, we snap. Too little activity and too little stress with too few demands on us results in a dull system and like the unused rubber band that sits in our desk drawer for years, once taken out to use, it crumbles. We want Eustress which is a Greek word meaning good stress.

We all need some tension in our lives but we want healthy tension - just enough demands and pressures on our system followed by rest and repair is the way to stay healthy. Remember that stress is accumulative which means that the more stress we have, the more stress we tend to get. The same is true with rest and repair. We repair, recharge, and regenerate more quickly when our nervous systems are rested.

Strategy #3: Acknowledge yourself.

Most of us take our gifts and strengths for granted. Because of this, we often forget to acknowledge who we are and what we do to contribute to others. As we would acknowledge others, we should also see and acknowledge ourselves because we are important too. Take a moment and just acknowledge yourself and pat yourself on the back. You're OK, you know. In fact, you're great!

As we move from one season to another, demands and changes in our routines place constraints on our time and energy. Be sure to take care of yourself along the way. If you don't take care of yourself, there is only one end in sight. Poor health. Stay well. Be conscious of the demands on your time and energy. Build in rest and repair. And acknowledge yourself!

By Danielle Gault, Health & HR Development Specialist

RCRT, BA Psych. HRM Post-Grad.

Danielle Gault, writer, trainer, and natural healer, delivers workshops, coaching and healing services in Ontario, New York, and New Zealand. She has written articles published in the Ontario Association of Psychological Type, local newspapers, and for the Reflexology Association of Canada. Danielle believes in a holistic approach to living and uses personality theory, natural healing techniques such as yoga, reflexology and insightful workshops to assist people in addressing their issues in life and striving to live consciously. Her websites are: http://www.wellness-training-services.com or contact her at dgault@cwtservices.biz

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Danielle_R._Gault

The secret of Success!

Socrates

A young man asked Socrates, an ancient Greek philosopher, the secret of Success. Socrates told the man to meet him near the river the next morning. They met. Socrates asked the young man to walk with him toward the river.

When the water got up to their necks, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water. The man struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him underwater until he started turning blue The young man struggled hard and finally managed to get up. The first thing he did was to gasp and take a deep breath.

Socrates asked, ‘What did you want the most when you were under the water?”

The man replied: “Air”.

Socrates said: That’s the most secret to success. When you want success as badly as you want air, you will get it. There is no other secret’.

Reflection:

A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishments. Just like a small fire cannot give much heat, a weak desire cannot produce great results...

More about Socrates:

Socrates is a famous ancient Greek philosopher. He was born in Athens in 469 BC and was killed (by poison) in 399 BC (about 71 years old) because the government didn’t agree with his teaching. Socrates is widely credited for laying the foundation for Western philosophy.