Lucknow, June 30 -- In a further push to improve ease of doing business and attract fresh investment, chief secretary (CS) SP Goyal on Monday directed all departments to expedite implementation of compliance reduction and regulatory reforms and adopt best practices from across the country to make the state a more attractive destination for investors. The directions were issued during a high-level review meeting chaired by the CS to assess progress under the state's Compliance Reduction and Deregulation 2025 initiative, aimed at reducing unnecessary regulatory burden, speeding up business activity and creating a more investor-friendly environment. Addressing senior officials, Goyal said the proposed Deregulation 2.0 measures would help increase investment inflows, accelerate industrial establishment, strengthen the MSME sector and generate employment opportunities across the state. He said the reforms would also reduce procedural hurdles faced by farmers and landowners while facilitating expansion in education, healthcare and tourism sectors, ultimately contributing to faster economic growth. Goyal instructed departments to undertake a detailed examination of the proposals and ensure early implementation. Departments unable to immediately execute the suggested reforms have been asked to communicate reasons to Invest UP within one week. During the meeting, officials discussed proposals to simplify land-use regulations, improve land utilisation in industrial clusters, streamline construction approvals and align fire safety norms with global best practices. Discussions also covered removal of dual licensing requirements for businesses, liberalisation of rules governing shops and commercial establishments and simplification of legal metrology-related licensing. Other proposals under consideration included making the State Industrial Development Authority the single nodal agency for industrial clusters, extending self-declaration-based facilities and inspection safeguards to MSMEs and speeding up electricity connection processes. The meeting also reviewed proposals to hold more regular meetings of environmental clearance bodies, develop a land bank of degraded forest and non-forest land, expand affordable and quality accommodation for tourism and relax land, endowment fund and infrastructure requirements for private schools, universities and higher education institutions. Further suggestions included simplifying registration and licensing processes in the health sector, reducing turnaround time under the single-window clearance system, creating a centralised digital repository of rules and introducing a simplified approval mechanism under the proposed Right to Business Act. Senior officials present included additional Chief Secretary (ACS), energy Ashish Kumar Goyal, ACS (Basic Education) Parth Sarathi Sen Sharma, Invest UP CEO Vijay Kiran Anand, director general of medical education Sarika Mohan and excise commissioner Adarsh Singh, among others....