Finance Minister Calls Online Games “Nothing But Gambling”, BRAP Report To Be Released Today

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman categorically termed online gaming “nothing but gambling”. Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation will be extended from today, June 30.

Addressing the media after the two-day meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council here, Sitharaman said casinos, horse racing, and online gaming are all gambling.

“Whether it is horse racing or online gaming or casinos, the common thread that the Committee highlighted as they are part of betting and gaming,” said Finance Minister.

Finance Minister will release the assessment report of the States and Union Territories under the Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP), 2020 on June 30. The report will be presented in the presence of commerce minister Piyush Goyal.

As per the commerce ministry’s statement, the BRAP report includes 301 reform points that cover 15 business regulatory areas such as access to Information, single window system, labor, environment, sectoral reforms, and other reforms spanning across the lifecycle of a typical business.

The BRAP report also includes 301 reform points that cover 15 business regulatory areas such as access to Information, single window system, labor, environment, sectoral reforms, and other reforms spanning across the lifecycle of a typical business, as per the commerce ministry’s statement.

Sectoral reforms have been introduced in BRAP 2020 wherein 72 reforms were identified across nine sectors including trade license, healthcare, legal metrology, cinema halls, hospitality, fire NOC, telecom, movie shooting, and tourism. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has been releasing such reports since 2014 for steering business reforms to create an investor-friendly ecosystem across the country.

Four editions of the assessment have been released so far, and the latest edition was for the 2020 assessment. The DPIIT has undertaken a feedback-based exercise wherein feedback was taken from businesses on the quality of implementation of the reforms carried out by the States and the UTs.

The DPIIT is the institutional anchor for the Ease of Doing Business program. It has brought in a cohesive approach by breaking the silos and working in collaboration with States and Union UTs to improve their business regulatory environment.

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