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The Gujarat administration has a reason to cheer. The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation report attests that the state is truly Vibrant Gujarat. The state topped the list in a report card on Economic Freedom Index, a nationwide report card of on economic governance conducted by economists.
The administration can hardly hide its glee, because the good work certificate comes from a foundation that is headed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Gujarat is followed by Andhra Pradesh (Congress-ruled state), Chhattisgarh (BJP-ruled State), Tamil Nadu (All India Anna Dravid Munnetra Kazhagam-ruled State) and Maharashtra (Congress-ruled State). The index is developed along the lines of that developed by Canada-based Fraser Institute which developed the World Economic Freedom Index.
Developed by noted Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman and Michael Walker of the Fraser Institute, the index measures the absence of Government coercion or constraint on production, distribution, or consumption of goods and services beyond the extent necessary for citizens to protect and maintain liberty itself. The key ingredients of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to compete, and protection of person and property.
So much so that the report card says Gujarat tops the list on individual freedom, a far cry from media representation that the state is in grip of communal fundamentalism after riots that gripped the state in 2002. "Gujarat is one of the most peaceful states in India, a fact reiterated by the very low occurrence of violent crimes, like murder, rape, kidnapping, riots, and ransom. Gujarat has very low level of economic crime, and is an indicator of better protection of property rights, which is conducive to setting up of new business. The speed of investigations and trials has been found the best in Gujarat," the report said.
The Indian Index consists of 25 different components spread in the three broad areas, size of the Government, legal structure and security of property rights and regulation of credit, labour and business. The incidence of corruption in Government is also found low because corruption-related cases are vigorously investigated and tried. This is indicative of that the justice system is prompt.
The state is ideally poised for industrial growth with least mandays lost in the strike and lockouts. It has least obstruction and barrier for trade and industry in the form of license fee, the report said.
While neighbour and rival for attracting industrial investment -Maharashtra - reels under the economic and political shocks of load-shedding, power situation in Gujarat is one of the best in the country. It is also fiscally one of the better administered states, the report said.
Nurturing entrepreneurship is a
culture in the state. The report acknowledges that the state has the highest
ratio of Industrial Enterpreneurs Memorandum (IEMs) implemented, which
indicates that the bureaucratic delays are minimal in the state. Government
is a facilitator in the process. The interference of Government in economic
activities is also minimal in Gujarat. Regardless of the raging debate
on merits of disinvestments, Gujarat has performed very well in the field
of disinvestments of public sectors, the report said.
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