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Tag: EconomicSurvey2025

  • Eco Survey: Southern states lead green ease of doing biz

    Eco Survey: Southern states lead green ease of doing biz

    Ease of doing business got a major green upgrade in southern India, with Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh emerging as trailblazing models, according to the Economic Survey 2025-26.

    The pre-Budget document presents clear evidence that these states have dramatically improved ease of doing business by slashing environmental clearance timelines under the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) — while smartly weaving sustainability right into their industrial and economic strategies. This shows that faster approvals and stronger environmental protection can — and do — coexist.

    Kerala used BRAP 2024 to turbocharge ease of doing business through streamlined business registration, digitised land and tax records, and simplified environmental clearances. Simultaneously, the state accelerated renewable energy adoption, rolled out carbon-neutral gram panchayats and launched large-scale waterbody rejuvenation — delivering quicker business setup alongside meaningful ecological gains.

    Tamil Nadu strengthened its ease of doing business ranking with single-window clearances, fully digitised approval processes and progressive land reforms. It is aggressively promoting massive solar parks, district-level decarbonisation plans and statewide energy efficiency programmes.

    The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board maintains rigorous oversight of industrial effluent treatment and actively facilitates Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) for pollution-intensive clusters like tanneries and textiles, ensuring treated wastewater consistently meets strict discharge standards.

    Andhra Pradesh advanced ease of doing business under BRAP 2024 with single-window industrial clearances, online land registration and electronic environmental approvals. The state expanded its Online Consent Management & Monitoring System, allowing businesses to apply for consents digitally, track real-time progress and significantly reduce delays — while greatly improving transparency and coordination between industries and the Pollution Control Board.

    “Some evidence suggests that states streamlining processes to boost ease of doing business while embedding sustainability can cut delays, increase transparency and deliver better environmental outcomes at the same time,” the Survey notes.

    These pioneering and balanced efforts send a strong signal: enhancing ease of doing business no longer means compromising on green goals — it can actually reinforce renewable energy growth, tighter pollution controls and digital-first governance.

  • Eco Survey 2025-26: No Capital shortage, but huge climate finance gap

    Eco Survey 2025-26: No Capital shortage, but huge climate finance gap

    There is no shortage of money in the world for fighting climate change — the real problem is that this cash is simply not reaching the countries that need it most, the Economic Survey 2025-26 has warned.

    Tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday, the pre-Budget document says the core issue is not lack of capital but a deep structural misalignment between huge pools of global liquidity and extremely low risk appetite among lenders and investors when it comes to projects in developing nations.

    “Global capital markets are flush with funds, yet flows to sustainable development and climate action in the Global South remain badly constrained by entrenched risk aversion built into the global financial system,” the Survey notes.

    This blockage shows up most clearly in two places: the conservative lending models of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and tough prudential rules in rich countries.

    MDBs still prefer safe, sovereign-guaranteed loans to protect their AAA ratings. This limits their ability to recycle balance sheets and pull in large-scale private money. High capital charges under Basel III and Solvency II make long-term infrastructure bets in emerging markets unattractive for banks and insurers in developed nations.

    On top of that, big institutional investors want standardised, easy-to-trade securities — while climate projects in poorer countries are usually custom-made, small and illiquid.

    The Survey calls the situation urgent and demands big-ticket reforms to fix it:

    • Recapitalisation of MDBs
    • Shift to “originate-to-share” model using guarantees, insurance and blended finance
    • Recalibration of global regulations
    • Strong governance to protect public money

    It points to a recent game-changer example: In 2025, the Inter-American Development Bank and Brazil’s Central Bank set up a mechanism that unlocked up to $3.4 billion in long-term forex hedging. This tackles currency risk without piling more debt on governments — making projects far more attractive to private investors.

    Without such active risk-sharing and a move away from pure risk avoidance, the Survey warns, energy poverty and climate vulnerability will keep rising in the developing world despite trillions sitting idle in global markets.