Agartala (Tripura) [India] May 15 (ANI): Tripura has created history by becoming the first state in India to complete all Priority Areas under Deregulation Phase-II of the national Compliance Reduction and Deregulation initiative led by the Cabinet Secretariat of the Government of India.
With this achievement, the state has also become the first in the country to complete all 51 Priority Areas under both Phase-I and Phase-II of the reform programme, strengthening its position as a leader in regulatory reforms, Ease of Doing Business, and technology-driven governance.
The reforms, launched in January 2026, focused on reducing compliance burdens, removing unnecessary procedures, digitising approvals, and building a transparent and investor-friendly administrative system across sectors, including Revenue, Urban Development, Industries, Labour, Environment, Tourism, Health, Education, and Digital Governance.
A major focus of the initiative was simplifying land and urban governance processes. The state introduced self-certification-based Change of Land Use in areas aligned with Master Plans and environmental safeguards, significantly reducing delays in approvals. The Single Window Approval Agency (SWAAT) was strengthened, overlapping No Objection Certificates were rationalised, and several low-risk approvals were automated through self-certification mechanisms. The government also removed dual licensing requirements to eliminate regulatory duplication.
In the industrial sector, investor-friendly reforms were introduced to allow businesses to begin operations through self-declaration systems, along with inspection exemptions for up to three years in certain categories. Environmental governance and infrastructure services were also streamlined through faster environmental clearance processes and simplified procedures for electricity connections, including the removal of mandatory field inspections within prescribed limits.
Several citizen-centric reforms were implemented in the social sector as well. In education, land and endowment requirements for establishing institutions were rationalised. In the health sector, a single nodal mechanism was introduced to facilitate seamless interstate registration and practice for medical professionals. Tourism reforms simplified homestay regulations by removing multiple NOC requirements and enabling online self-renewal systems to encourage local tourism entrepreneurship.
As part of its digital governance push, the Government of Tripura launched a centralised e-Gazette system for unified digital access to Acts, Rules, Regulations, and Government Notifications. An auto-appeal mechanism under the Right to Services framework was also introduced to improve accountability and ensure timely service delivery. The SWAGAAT Single Window System was further strengthened to improve transparency and ease of access for businesses and citizens.
The state has also collaborated with premier national institutions to support the reform process. The government partnered with the National Law University Tripura for a principle-based review of State laws and regulations, while the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta has been empanelled to conduct a ground-level impact assessment study of reforms implemented under Deregulation Phase-I.
The completion of all Priority Areas reflects the state government’s strong focus on reform-driven governance, administrative coordination, and technology-enabled public service delivery. The reforms are expected to boost investor confidence, reduce compliance costs, improve service delivery, and further establish Tripura as a model state for future-ready governance in India. (ANI)
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