The government is likely to launch the second phase of industrial park rating system (IPRS) in April with an aim to enable informed decision making for various stakeholders like investors and promote ease of doing business, an official said. As compared to the pilot or first phase, the official said the IPRS 2.0 will widen the coverage of rating to more than 400 parks including private parks and additional 50 special economic zones.
"IPRS 2.0 is scheduled to launch in April 2021. "The IPRS rating framework is conceptualised to be standing on four pillars of the industrial ecosystem, including internal infrastructure and utilities; external infrastructure and connectivity; business services and facilities; environment and safety," the official added.
In the second phase, feedback would be taken from tenants who occupy the nominated parks and zones, in addition to the responses from developers. IPRS 2.0 aims at enabling informed decision making for various stakeholders such as policymakers, investors and financing institutions for development of strategies for future industrialisation; and improve industrial infrastructure. It also aims to support ease of doing business reform agenda of providing transparent information, enable states to showcase their strengths and promote investment in the state industrial ecosystem, and identify gaps for interventions.
So far, over 400 parks were nominated by all states and UTs across the country. Industrial parks are rated on a questionnaire of 45 questions and the park developers are requested to submit their responses on each question based on availability of the amenities in respective industrial parks.
A steering committee has been constituted at the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to guide the initiative. The committee comprises members from relevant government departments and agencies, former senior government officers, think-tanks, research institutes and industry associations.
IPRS pilot was launched in November 2018 with support from ADB. It was conceptualised with an aim to enhance industrial infrastructure competitiveness and support policy development for enabling industrialization across the country. The official said that the DPIIT, intends to implement IPRS as an annual rating exercise with a wider coverage of industrial parks under the system.
