By Kavya Sharma
Photo Credit: The Suncity News
Patna, May 8, 2026: A high-level review meeting aimed at accelerating investment reforms and improving the ease of doing business in Bihar was held on Friday at the Main Secretariat auditorium under the joint chairmanship of K K Pathak and Bihar Chief Secretary Pratyaya Amrit.
The meeting focused on reviewing the progress of ‘Deregulation 1.0’ and ‘Deregulation 2.9’ initiatives, which are aimed at reducing regulatory burdens, abolishing outdated laws, and creating a more investor-friendly administrative environment.
Bihar focuses on reducing compliance burden:
During the meeting, K K Pathak directed all state departments to identify and eliminate unnecessary compliance requirements falling under their respective jurisdictions.
Officials were instructed to prepare a list of outdated rules, registers, and returns that can be abolished.
Reduce unnecessary procedural hurdles affecting investment, and complete all pending reforms under Deregulation 2.0 on a priority basis.
The special Secretary emphasized that excessive regulations often become barriers to industrial growth and private investment.
Deadline set for pending reforms:
A strict timeline was also established during the meeting. The department was directed to complete all pending deregulation 2.0 tasks within 15 working days.
Upload reform-related updates to the designed government portal, submitted weekly progress reports every Friday to the Cabinet Secretariat Department.
The Chief Secretary’s Office will directly monitor the progress of these reforms.
Push for a single window system and self-certification:
Chief Secretary Pratyaya Amrit instructed all departments to ensure mandatory implementation of the single window system and self-certification mechanisms for approvals.
The objective, officials said, is to minimize human intervention, improve transparency, and speed up administrative clearances for businesses and investors.
Urban planning and infrastructure reforms discussed:
The meeting also included extensive discussions on modernizing urban planning and infrastructure governance.
Key topics included the integration of the National Building Code for Sustainability (NBCS) 2026 standards into Bihar’s building bye-laws.
Adoption of revised Floor Area Ratio (FAR) norms, implementation of the Total Facility Management (TFM) model for government property management.
Officials noted that these measures are intended to improve infrastructure safety, sustainability, and efficiency.
Another major issue discussed was the of minor technical violations in business-related laws.
Departments were instructed to accelerate reforms aimed at replacing imprisonment provisions for minor procedural lapses, converting such offences into financial penalties instead.
The initiative is aligned with broader national efforts to improve India’s business climate and reduce legal complexities for enterprises.
To avoid delays in reforms involving multiple departments, the Cabinet Secretariat Department was assigned a coordinating role.
Officials stated that this mechanism would help ensure that inter-departmental files do not remain pending unnecessarily.
Also Read: Bihar intensifies industrial push as major companies explore expansion and new units take shape.
EOM.
