In 2021, the Government launched the National Single Window System (NSWS), a digital one-stop-shop solution, for investors to obtain all necessary approvals for starting business operations. The idea was to eliminate the need for investors and businesses to visit multiple platforms and offices to get approvals. Last November, Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal strongly urged the industry to utilise the single window system and provide feedback for its improvement. 

Several industry representatives have communicated to the government that they have struggled to obtain time-bound approvals using the system, according to three people familiar with the development. A senior consultant working with investors in telecom and manufacturing noted that, despite the single-window mechanism, even central ministries take longer to process applications and still require multiple in-person visits for clearance.

The complaints have prompted the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), which falls under the ministry, to reassess the initiative and explore ways to improve it. 

It has now sought the views of the Ministry of Electronics and IT on the application of newer technologies such as artificial intelligence in resolving issues without human interference, a government official aware of the development said.

Can AI help improve the system?

Ease of doing business

The idea of setting up a single window for investors is not new. In 2009, the UPA government awarded the single-window project eBiZ to Infosys for a ten-year period. The aim was to improve the ease of doing business in India for foreign and domestic enterprises. The project had limited success.

When the Modi government came to power, it took a series of measures to improve the ease of doing business and boost investor confidence. In 2021, Goyal launched NSWS, and the mandate of its implementation was given to Invest India, an investment promotion agency under the DPIIT.    

The idea of the single window system is to integrate the existing clearance system of government agencies at the central and State levels without disrupting their existing IT portals. “Through a single unified application form, investors are able to apply for multiple clearances and also monitor the status of their applications through the investor dashboard,” the Government told the Lok Sabha in December 2022. 

At present, 32 central ministries and departments and 29 States and Union Territories’ Single Window Clearances are linked with the NSWS platform. “As of October 14, 2024, 7.1 lakh approvals have been applied for, and 4.81 lakh approvals have been granted through NSWS,” according to the DPIIT.

When DPIIT and Invest India pushed the States and the line ministries to integrate with NSWS, they gave them three options. One, the NSWS team does all the work for the concerned user ministry or department and integrates their portals with NSWS. Two, NSWS will simply do an API integration with the user departments’ portals. And three, reverse integration. This means the user department will function in its own way, and will just update the dashboard once it has processed the application.

The States can choose any of these options. 

Seeking to remove hurdles

“Between option 2 and option 3, most States and Union Territories have gone for option 3,” the government official said.

There are interoperability issues in option 3, as the State operates its own IT application which may not necessarily be interoperable with NSWS, the official said.  

“Wider and complete adoption at the central and state levels is a key challenge,” one government official aware of the development said. “Of 53 line ministries, 32 are on board. But even those on board have not digitised all their forms and linked them to NSWS,” the government official said.

“It is not end-to-end because ministries have put one form on NSWS. But there are a dozen other forms which are not linked to NSWS,” the government official said.

“The department is looking for ways to ensure smoother integration of state and central agencies with the NSWS,” the government official said.

The DPIIT officials want the NSWS portal to have real-time updates from the states.

There are also issues related to data sharing between the central government agencies, the official said.

Revenue agencies such as GSTN and the Income Tax department don’t share their data with NSWS. “If a person filled their form, then their data should be auto-fetched. The GST team will refuse to share information. They have their own rules,” the government official said.

“While NSWS requires departments and agencies to respond in a stipulated time frame, many times response comes on the last day, flagging issues like incomplete documentation, which ideally should have been pointed at on day one. Even when the documentation is complete, the approvals don’t come,” said the consultant earlier quoted in the story.

Citing examples, the consultant said companies struggle to get time bound approvals from corporate affairs and communications ministers. 

“Ideally, when a user is uploading applications and forms, then the system should tell if everything is in place. This is where we will need AI algorithms,” the government official said.

This is why the DPIIT has sought the help of MeitY. 

The department is also encouraging states to undertake inspections through their single-window systems. “If an investor is putting up a factory, there is a component of inspection. The user can upload all the photos on this portal, which can be reviewed by the concerned officials, and the inspection can be planned accordingly,” the government official said.

Overall, industry being a state subject, there is only so much an initiative like NSWS can do.

“Eventually, the idea is to make the whole process end-to-end online. IRCTC ticket booking, for example.  With no human intervention at all,” the official said.