The Centre is preparing a major overhaul of business licensing rules in FY27, with several permits likely to receive validity periods of 10 to 15 years. The move is aimed at reducing repeated paperwork and easing the compliance burden faced by companies, Moneycontrol reported.
The reform exercise covers regulations across sectors including environment, pharmaceuticals, explosives and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certifications.
While making licences permanent was considered, some ministries have indicated that extending their validity to 10 or 15 years would be more feasible.
The proposed system would separate licence validity from renewal fees. Companies would continue paying applicable fees annually but would not need to repeatedly submit renewal applications during the longer validity period.
The initiative is being overseen by a high-level committee on non-financial regulatory reforms headed by NITI Aayog member and former Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba. The panel was established in August 2025 to examine government regulations, licences, certifications and permissions.
Hospitality among sectors facing heavy compliance
The need for reform is particularly visible in hospitality, where businesses can require dozens of approvals from central, state and local authorities.
A NITI Aayog report found that food and beverage establishments may need nearly 30 licences during a project's lifecycle, while hospitality projects can require around 60 permissions.
Current requirements include environmental approvals, pollution-control consents, food safety licences, drug manufacturing permissions, PESO safety clearances and mandatory BIS certifications.
Officials clarified that the government is not planning a single unified licence to replace all existing permits. Instead, individual approvals would remain in place, while their validity could be substantially extended.
The broader objective is to create a more trust-based regulatory framework and improve India's ease of doing business by eliminating unnecessary recurring compliance procedures.
