FDI in India increased even during the pandemic, Union Finance Minister said after releasing the data.

New Delhi:

Andhra Pradesh, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Telangana, topped the national ranking on ease of doing business ranking released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade today.

While Andhra Pradesh retained its ace position for the third year in a row, Uttar Pradesh emerged as the top performer in northern region after it climbed 10 places over its 2018 position, shows the ranking which is based on implementation of the Business Reform Action Plan for Atmanirbhar Bharat.

National Capital Delhi, at No 12, climbed 12 spots over its last year’s ranking to become the best Union Territory for doing business.

Madhya Pradesh is the best place to put your money in the western region, Jharkhand in East and Assam in Northeast. However, the state ranked a lowly 20 in the overall list, followed by Jammu and Kashmir at No. 21, Goa at 24, Bihar at 26 and Kerala at 28th spot. Tripura was ranked at the bottom 36th.

Gujarat, consistently ranked the best in the last four rankings, stood at No. 10.

“India is seen taking the reform process seriously which showed when foreign direct investment in the country increased even during the COVID-19 pandemic, amid what was called world’s strictest lockdown,” Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said days after she called the pandemic an “act of God” that may see the economy contract.

Appreciating the effort put in by states, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, who also has the Railways portfolio, said the exercise is aimed at promoting competition among states to improve the business climate to attract domestic and foreign investments.

“It will also help the nation improve its ranking. The country is working on steps like creating a single-window system for approvals and clearances,” he added.