AP at 6th in land records digitisation, TS at 13th

Hyderabad: TELANGANA State ranked at 13, while Andhra Pradesh finished with sixth position as far as the digitisation of land records, according to the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) Land Record and Services Index (N-LRSI) 2021. The report revealed that almost all States/Union Territories have shown an improvement in their efforts to digitize land records compared to the previous year.

Madhya Pradesh has emerged as the top performer for a second year in a row, followed by West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Telangana slipped six ranks, while Andhra Pradesh gained four places to finish at sixth spot. While Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have maintained their positions, West Bengal has moved up four ranks, from rank six to two. Odisha and Maharashtra, which ranked second and third in N-LRSI 2020, has fallen by one rank each to take up rank three and four in this year's index.

This is the second edition of the Index, which has been supported by Omidyar Network India, through its Property Rights Research Consortium initiative which aims to enable evidence-based solutions for securing land, housing and property rights in India. The N-LRSI 2021 is based on data collected over 2020-21 on two aspects of the supply of land records—the extent of digitisation of land records and the quality of these land records. Access to land is a critical factor for economic growth and poverty reduction. For government, industry, and citizens to be able to use this asset effectively and to minimise disputes, it is important to have access to reliable land and property records. Digitizing these land records is critical for ensuring India's economic growth, as accessible, high quality records not only helps increase the visibility and availability of land for large-scale investment opportunities, but at an individual level, also makes it possible for the public to transact land and use it for seeking credit in a dispute-free environment.