The Center for International & Strategic Studies (CSIS), a well-respected Washington think tank, has just released the first in a series of reports identifying which of the various Indian states have instituted breakthrough reforms of the business climate.
The southern state of Andhra Pradesh, under Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu‘s leadership wins the first-ever State Breakthrough award for an industrial land policy that combines a large land bank, a long standard lease, and an openness to selling state land to private sector buyers. The states of Telangana and Haryana rank second and third, according to the report.
Nathan Associates and the CSIS Wadhwani Chair gathered data primarily from official government publications, and occasionally supplemented it with information from reliable media sources.
Highlights from the Data:
Andhra Pradesh had the largest land bank, at 338,000 acres, including current Industrial Estates. Maharashtra (207,000 acres), Telangana (139,000 acres), Karnataka (116,000 acres), and Gujarat (103,000 acres) rounded out the top five.
Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Odisha, Punjab, and Telangana are the only states that clearly lay out the terms under which they will sell government land to private buyers. Telangana and Haryana are the only states where sale is the default mode of land transfer.
Five states — Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu — offer a standard 99-year lease. Maharashtra, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh all get honorable mentions for standard leases between 90 and 95 years.
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
