The government has undertaken a series of policy and legislative reforms since 2014 to strengthen the ease of doing business and reduce compliance burden, resulting in a sharp increase in the number of active companies across the country.
According to information shared in Parliament, initiatives ranging from regulatory simplification and digitisation to decriminalisation of minor offences have helped improve transparency, efficiency and investor confidence. The number of active companies has nearly doubled from 9.52 lakh as on March 31, 2014 to 18.51 lakh as on March 31, 2025.
A key reform has been the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP), launched in 2014, which focuses on reducing regulatory hurdles and improving clearance processes. States and Union Territories are assessed based on evidence and user feedback to ensure effective implementation of reforms at the grassroots level, with seven editions of BRAP completed so far.
Several amendments to the Companies Act, 2013 between 2015 and 2020 were undertaken to facilitate ease of doing business, including decriminalisation of technical and procedural violations. These measures eased the compliance burden on small companies, one-person companies, start-ups and producer companies, while reducing pressure on criminal courts and the National Company Law Tribunal.
The Limited Liability Partnership (Amendment) Act, 2021 also decriminalised procedural violations and introduced the category of “Small LLP” to provide lower compliance requirements and reduced fees, encouraging formalisation of small businesses.
Further, exemptions from various provisions of the Companies Act were extended to private companies, government companies, charitable entities, Nidhis and companies in IFSC GIFT City. Incorporation fees were waived for companies with authorised capital up to ₹15 lakh.
To improve access to capital and enhance global integration, Indian public companies have been permitted to directly list securities in permissible foreign jurisdictions. The fast-track merger framework was expanded to include mergers involving start-ups and small companies, with further broadening of its scope in September 2025.
On the procedural front, the Central Registration Centre was operationalised in 2016 to enable faster incorporation, supported by integrated digital forms such as SPICe+ and AGILE PRO-S, which allow multiple registrations at a single point. Similar facilities were introduced for LLPs through the FiLLiP form.
The government has also established dedicated processing centres, including the Centre for Processing Accelerated Corporate Exit (C-PACE) in 2023 for time-bound striking off of companies and LLPs, and the Central Processing Centre in 2024 for centralised handling of select forms. Adjudication proceedings under the Companies Act have been fully digitised through an e-adjudication platform to enhance transparency and speed.
In parallel, the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 decriminalised 183 provisions across 42 central laws. Combined with compliance reduction efforts by central ministries, states and Union Territories, over 47,000 compliances have been simplified, digitised or removed.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has also integrated data analytics-driven enforcement and compliance tools into the MCA21 V3 platform, including early warning and compliance management systems based on risk assessment.
The government said these measures have collectively improved the ease of living and ease of doing business, contributing significantly to economic growth and formalisation of enterprises.
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