ISLAMABAD: In order to ensure ease of doing business, Prime Minis­ter Imran Khan on Sunday directed the cabinet division to devise separate mechanisms or standard operating procedures (SOPs) for regulatory authorities to ensure easy and time-bound issuance of licences, permissions or no objection certificates (NOCs) to the applicants.

The prime minister asked the cabinet division to take necessary action in consultation with the regulatory authorities concerned and furnish draft procedure to him within two weeks, a statement issued by the Prime Minister Office said.

He also called for making each step of the process simple, easy and time-bound.

He said the same SOPs with timelines and pro­cedure would later be placed on websites of the respective authorities for convenience of public.

There is a general complaint of the business community and industrialists that they always face difficulties in getting licences, permissions and NOCs.

Recently, the cabinet passed amendments to the National Accountability Bureau law, giving protection to the businessmen and bureaucrats from undue action of the anti-graft watchdog.

The prime minister had said many times that his ­government was providing opportunities to the people for starting small businesses and cottage industries.

It is believed that when the new ventures are started some permissions, approvals, licences and NOCs are required, so the departments and authorities concerned have to facilitate the entrepreneurs, instead of creating hurdles for them.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2020