On Wednesday, the Delhi Cabinet sanctioned a new bill designed to streamline the registration, approval, and licensing processes necessary for establishing a business in the capital. This legislation introduces a single-window system for obtaining these essential clearances.
The proposed legislation, known as the Delhi Ease of Doing Business Bill, 2026, aims to categorize specific business activities as ‘low risk’. For these activities, approvals, permissions, licenses, or no-objection certificates will be issued immediately upon application submission.
A government statement highlighted the bill’s objective to establish an environment in which business owners and entrepreneurs can avoid multiple trips to different government offices, repetitive information submissions, and prolonged waiting periods for necessary approvals.
A notable aspect of the proposed bill is the establishment of an online single-window system that will facilitate applications for various approvals, registrations, no-objection certificates, consents, licenses, and additional services such as building plans, fire safety approvals, and utility connections including water, sewer, and electricity. The Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) is suggested to act as the central authority overseeing approvals within this framework.
Activities identified in Schedule 3 of the bill will fall under the ‘low risk’ category. Furthermore, the draft bill proposes that the timelines outlined in the Right to Timely and Easy Delivery of Services to Citizens Act, 2026, will apply to approvals for other activities, with approvals automatically granted once the specified timeframes have elapsed.
The bill also suggests implementing a “negative-list based system.” This means that, aside from activities listed in the ‘negative list’ in Schedule 2, businesses will be permitted to engage in any operation at any location. The government emphasized that the guiding principle will be that anything not expressly prohibited will be allowed, marking a significant shift from the current approach, where anything not specifically permitted is viewed as prohibited.
