Delhi draft industrial policy suggests adopting best practices of global cities to spur business

Adopting the best practices like those in Dubai, Shanghai, and Singapore among other world cities is the way forward for Delhi to deal with regulatory “inefficiencies”, simpler registration and approval process and become a global business hub.

The draft Delhi Industrial Policy, 2025-35 noted that Delhi’s business environment suffers from “significant regulatory inefficiencies”, including lengthy 4-6 month registration and licensing processes, multiple agency approvals, bureaucratic “delays”, “corruption”, and complex tax policies.

This “hinders” businesses, specially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), “discouraging” foreign direct investment (FDI) and “slowing” infrastructure development, limiting Delhi’s potential as a global business hub, said the draft Industrial policy put in public domain for stakeholders feedback.

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In order to address these issues, Delhi must leverage AI-driven automation, digital governance, and investor-friendly frameworks to create a seamless and transparent economic ecosystem, it suggested.

The steps recommended by the draft policy included implementing single-window business registration portals with blockchain verification for automated approvals and real-time tracking, inspired by Singapore’s BizFile+ and Estonia’s e-Residency.

Enhancing regulatory transparency through blockchain-based systems to prevent manipulation and delays as was in Dubai’s Blockchain Strategy, accelerating commercial expansion and infrastructure development with one-stop digital approval systems and intimation-based regimes like Hong Kong’s E-Submission Hub, were also suggested in the draft policy.

It also proposed creating pre-zoned commercial and industrial areas with predefined clearances to attract multinationals, on the lines of Shanghai’s Pudong district.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven regulatory automation, simplifying taxes, eliminating corruption, fast-tracking commercial expansions, and adopting investor friendly policies will help Delhi transform into a highly efficient and business-friendly hub and attract investments, it stated.

The draft Industrial Policy focuses on frontier tech services, research and development and hospitality sectors through various interventions and sops by Delhi government.

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The stakeholders can provide their feedback on the draft policy till July 30. The industry department of the government is administrative department for policy implementation after it is finalised and approved by the authorities.

The policy will be valid for 10 years from the date of its notification until a new policy or an amendment is notified.