Uttar Pradesh: BRAP’s “Top Achiever” in 2024

Introduction
Uttar Pradesh has emerged as a leading reform-oriented state, earning “Top Achiever” status under the Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) in consecutive assessment cycles, including 2022 and 2024. This distinction underscores the State’s sustained commitment to regulatory simplification, efficient governance and the institutionalisation of Ease of Doing Business reforms across departments.

Over time, Uttar Pradesh has transformed from a challenging investment destination into one of India’s most competitive states for business facilitation, driven by systematic governance reforms and extensive digitalisation.

Reinforcing this progress, Uttar Pradesh has been ranked #1 under the Government of India’s Deregulation 1.0 Compliance Reduction Programme for achieving 100% implementation across all 23 priority areas and 71 sub-priority areas identified by the Deregulation Task Force. Covering key domains such as land, labour, building and construction, fire safety and pollution control, this sustained and time-bound reform effort has significantly strengthened the ease of doing business ecosystem.

With full compliance achieved in Phase I, the State is well positioned as India moves toward Deregulation 2.0 (2026), which will extend reforms across 30 additional priority areas and sectors.

 

Understanding BRAP Framework

The Business Reforms Action Plan is a national reform framework developed by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. BRAP evaluates the effectiveness of reform implementation by States and Union Territories, with a focus on reducing compliance burden, enhancing transparency and improving service delivery to businesses and citizens.

Unlike policy-centric assessments, BRAP places emphasis on on-ground implementation, supported by digital systems, defined timelines and accountability mechanisms. The framework covers multiple reform areas, including business entry, land administration, labour regulations, construction permits and environmental clearances. Recent iterations have also expanded reforms to the district level through the District BRAP (DBRAP) framework.

Purpose of BRAP

  1. Streamlining and rationalising business regulations
  2. Reducing approval timelines and procedural delays
  3. Enhancing transparency and accountability in regulatory processes
  4. Creating an investor-friendly and predictable regulatory environment
  5. Promoting uniform reform standards across States and Union Territories

Why BRAP Matters

BRAP performance directly influences:

  1. Investment inflows and industrial development
  2. Growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)
  3. Employment generation
  4. State-level economic competitiveness
  5. Investor confidence and long-term investment commitments

Uttar Pradesh’s BRAP Journey

Uttar Pradesh’s progress under BRAP reflects sustained institutional reform and governance initiatives undertaken under the leadership of Hon’ble Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Ji. From a mid-ranking position in earlier assessments, the State steadily strengthened reform implementation mechanisms, culminating in Top Achiever recognition in BRAP 2022 and BRAP 2024.

 

National Recognition and Awards

The BRAP 2022 “Top Achiever” Award was presented by the Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, Shri Piyush Goyal, declaring that the UP has set a new standard for Ease of Doing Business in India. This moment crystallized UP’s leadership, with media coverage amplifying its investor appeal globally.

BRAP 2024 Triple Crown

Excelling in Business Entry (15-minute registrations), Labour Enablers (40% compliance reduction) and Land Administration (50% faster transactions), UP achieved 434 reforms across 25 areas.
Consistent Top Achiever status became UP’s USP, with Nivesh Mitra handling 22 lakh+ applications with 97.3% satisfaction rate. This recognition elevated global perception, positioning UP as “China+1 destination” for manufacturers.

BRAP 2022 and 2024 Achievements in Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh’s performance in BRAP 2022 and BRAP 2024 reflects a shift from reform adoption to institutionalised, outcome-driven governance. The state not only achieved complete implementation of prescribed reforms in 2022 but also expanded the scale, depth and quality of reforms in 2024, maintaining its Top Achiever status across assessment cycles.
 

Role of Invest UP

The implementation and coordination of BRAP reforms were led by Invest UP, the state’s nodal investment facilitation agency.
Invest UP played a central role in:

  1. Inter-departmental coordination: Aligning more than 20 departments to deliver integrated and seamless approvals.
  2. Monitoring reform progress: Tracking reform implementation through dashboards, milestones and periodic reviews.
  3. Investor facilitation and grievance redressal: Providing end-to-end handholding to investors, resolving bottlenecks and ensuring timely service delivery through platforms like Nivesh Mitra and the Mukhyamantri Udyami Mitra Yojna.

Key Reforms Implemented

Uttar Pradesh’s success under BRAP is anchored in deep, process-level reforms across the entire business lifecycle. These reforms have replaced fragmented, manual systems with transparent, time-bound and digitally enabled mechanisms, significantly improving ease of doing business.

Land Administration

  1. Digitisation of land records
  2. Online land allotment systems
  3. Transparent title verification
  4. Reduced transaction timelines

Business Registration and Licensing

  1. End-to-end online registration
  2. Auto-renewal mechanisms
  3. Reduced physical inspections

Construction Permits

  1. Online building plan approvals
  2. Integrated departmental clearances
  3. Time-bound approval processes

Environmental Clearances

  1. Online application and tracking systems
  2. Defined timelines
  3. Reduced procedural delays

Single-Window Clearance System

  1. Integrated services through the Nivesh Mitra portal
  2. Dedicated relationship managers for investors

Impact on Ease of Doing Business

The comprehensive reforms implemented under BRAP have delivered clear and measurable improvements in Uttar Pradesh’s ease of doing business, transforming how enterprises interact with the government.

  1. Reduced compliance costs and approval timelines
  2. Increased transparency and predictability in regulatory processes
  3. Faster approvals across land, construction, labour and environmental permissions
  4. Improved administrative efficiency through inter-departmental coordination
  5. Enhanced investor confidence and repeat investments

Collectively, these outcomes have moved Uttar Pradesh towards a predictable, rule-based regulatory environment, aligning governance efficiency with economic growth and investment facilitation.

Competitive Advantage for Investors

Uttar Pradesh’s sustained “Top Achiever” status under BRAP has translated into a strong competitive edge for investors, distinguishing the state from its peers through scale, speed and certainty.

  1. Consistent reform performance across assessment cycles
  2. Transparent, digital, and time-bound regulatory processes
  3. Reduced bureaucratic delays and compliance burden
  4. Strong infrastructure and industrial land availability
  5. Dedicated government facilitation throughout the investment lifecycle

BRAP Categories and Rating System

BRAP evaluates reforms across a wide range of areas, including business registration, land administration, construction permits, labour compliance, environmental clearances and access to regulatory information. Based on aggregate performance, states are classified into four categories:

  1. Top Achievers
  2. Achievers
  3. Fast Movers
  4. Aspirers

These categories provide a comparative view of reform maturity and implementation effectiveness across states.

Evolution of the BRAP Assessment in 2024

The BRAP 2024 framework marked a significant shift in how reforms are evaluated, placing greater importance on outcomes rather than procedural compliance. Key changes include:

  1. Increased weightage to user feedback
  2. Shift from document-based compliance to experience-based evaluation
  3. Stronger emphasis on service outcomes

Uttar Pradesh’s Consistent Performance

Uttar Pradesh’s recognition as a Top Achiever in both BRAP 2022 and BRAP 2024 reflects the strength and continuity of its reform agenda. The state has demonstrated consistent cross-departmental implementation, strong digital service delivery, high user satisfaction and sustained improvement across assessment cycles.
Maintaining Top Achiever status indicates a shift from one-time reforms to the institutionalisation of good governance, embedding efficiency, transparency and accountability within administrative systems.
Through comprehensive digitisation, streamlined regulations and effective inter-departmental coordination, Uttar Pradesh has significantly enhanced its business environment while offering a replicable reform model and clear opportunities for investors across key sectors.