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CSIS India Chair tracked over 140 significant policy and regulatory changes across eight sectors, over Quarter 4, 2023. Below is a truncated list of 15 significant policy decisions from select sectors, along with a short summary of trends.

Climate Change & Energy

Over the last quarter of 2023, states took a number of steps to support the country’s energy and climate goals. Recognizing low rates of electric vehicle (EV) adoption, Delhi and Bihar framed new electric mobility policies focused on providing targets to transport aggregators to electrify their fleets. While Bihar gave aggregators a target of electrifying 50 percent of their two-wheeler fleets by 2027; Delhi mandated them to ensure phased conversion of 100 percent of their three-wheeler fleet by 2027, and 100 percent of their four-wheeler fleet by 2028. In another significant development, Gujarat and Rajasthan announced their new renewable energy policies, laying the roadmap for their respective states to cumulatively achieve 190GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030, as part of India’s overall 450 GW target. Finally, ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s announcement on installing rooftop solar in 10 million homes, Haryana launched its new solar policy.

State & Policy Change:

a. Bihar: Bihar notified the Bihar Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy 2023.

b. Delhi: Delhi approved the Delhi Motor Vehicle Aggregator and Delivery Service Provider Scheme 2023.

c. Gujarat: Gujarat released the Gujarat Renewable Energy Policy, 2023 with the aim to generate 50 percent of power through renewable energy sources by 2030.

d. Haryana: Haryana released the revamped Haryana Solar Power Policy 2023.

e. Rajasthan: Rajasthan released the Rajasthan Renewable Energy Policy, 2023, with the objective of developing 90GW renewable energy capacity in the state by 2030.

Health

While states announced targeted initiatives dealing with specific areas of public health, Haryana announced a financial transfer program for patients affected by rare diseases. This program is likely to be expanded to other diseases and will supplement the central government’s larger health insurance scheme—Ayushman Bharat.

State & Policy Change:

a. Andhra Pradesh: Andhra Pradesh launched a new medical program (“Jagananna Arogya Suraksha Program”). Under the ambitious initiative, medical personnel will go door to door to conduct medical examinations for 16 million families in the state.

b. Kerala: Kerala notified the Kerala Public Health Act 2023, aimed at guiding public health activities in the state.

Industrial Policy & Business Regulations

States continued to adopt progressive policies to encourage investment in specific sectors. Uttar Pradesh’s ambitious policy on processing land allocation requests for foreign investors within 22 days was notable. Meanwhile, Gujarat and Maharashtra launched industrial policies to promote exports, as Tamil Nadu focused on incentivizing the creation of port infrastructure.

State & Policy Change:

a. Gujarat: Gujarat launched the Gujarat Information Technology (IT)/ Information Technology enabled Services (ITeS) Policy 2022-27 aiming to increase its IT/ITeS exports from the state to $3 billion in the next five years and generating over 100,000 job opportunities.

b. Maharashtra: Maharashtra approved the Maharashtra Export Promotion Policy 2023, which aims to increase the state’s exports from the current 7 percent to 14 percent.

c. Tamil Nadu: Tamil Nadu released the State Port Development Policy 2023 designed to attract private investment and promote industrial growth in the state.

d. Uttar Pradesh: Uttar Pradesh released a policy for processing foreign investment proposals under which proposals would have to be processed for land allotment within a total of 22 days.

Land Acquisition & Labor Regulations

Odisha took a notable decision to exempt industrial and infrastructure project developers from mandatory “social impact assessments” for certain specified strategic and development projects.

State & Policy Change:

a. Odisha: Odisha passed the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Odisha amendment) Bill–2023. The bill provides exemptions from the mandatory social impact assessment (SIA) that developers must undertake.

Infrastructure & Governance

PM Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Uttarakhand became the second Indian state after Goa to adopt a “uniform civil code” that provides for a common legal framework to govern personal laws. Given that adopting the code has been a key electoral promise of the BJP, it remains to be seen whether other states follow up with similar measures. Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh announced an affirmative action policy to mandate 35 percent reservation for women in public jobs. Finally, Bihar extended the caste-neutral Economically Weaker Section (EWS) reservation provision to state-level judicial officers.

State & Policy Change:

a. Bihar: Bihar announced 10 percent reservation for people under the economically weaker section (EWS) category in the judicial services, and the state-run law colleges and universities.

b. Madhya Pradesh: Madhya Pradesh announced 35 percent reservation for women in government jobs.

c. Uttarakhand: Uttarakhand drafted a uniform civil code for the state.