NITI Aayog flags TS-iPASS as global benchmark for industrial clearances

NITI Aayog has identified Telangana’s TS-iPASS as India’s only industrial clearance system matching global best practices, recommending its features for a national MSME portal and highlighting its role in attracting investments and jobs.

Hyderabad: Reiterating the visionary and novel practices of the BRS government, NITI Aayog identified TS-iPASS as the only industrial policy and approval system from India worthy of study alongside global best practices adopted in Canada, Singapore, Germany and Australia. The national think tank selected TS-iPASS as a model that ended the bureaucratic and multi-layered approval process, paving the way for one of the fastest and most transparent systems in the country.

NITI Aayog recommended that the Union government consider establishing a centralised portal for MSMEs by integrating features from TS-iPASS along with the industrial portals of Canada, Singapore, Germany and Australia, while enhancing personalisation through AI-driven recommendations and real-time updates.

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In its latest report, “Achieving Efficiencies in MSME Sector through Convergence of Schemes,” the national think tank stated that the industrial sector in Telangana suffered from delays, repeated documentation, and fragmented clearances before the State formation in 2014. But the TS-iPASS Act, 2014, introduced a single-window, time-bound mechanism that mandates approvals within 1 to 30 days, with penalties for officials who fail to meet deadlines.

Under TS-iPASS, departments were mandated to seek additional information only once, within three days, while entrepreneurs were empowered to demand reasons for any delay. The portal integrated more than 25 departments, enabling simultaneous approvals, real-time data exchange, online application tracking, and automatic escalation of pending files—features that place it on par with global investment facilitation systems.

NITI Aayog observed that the impact was significant. In FY 2022-23, TS-iPASS cleared 3,191 new industrial projects worth Rs 26,791 crore. Cumulatively, it has facilitated 22,745 industries, attracted ₹2,60,060 crore in investments and generated 17.54 lakh jobs.

By spotlighting TS-iPASS as a benchmark for India, NITI Aayog underscored Telangana’s reputation for efficiency-driven industrial governance and its alignment with international standards in investor facilitation.