New Delhi, Feb. 2 -- The Union government plans to raise the bar for benchmark reforms for states seeking access to its 50-year interest-free capital expenditure (capex) loans, aiming to drive deregulation and improve ease of doing business-a key focus of the latest budget - said Ajay Seth, secretary at the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA).

"As we gain more experience, the quality of reforms continues to improve, and the expectations keep rising," Seth told Mint on Sunday. "It's no longer enough to simply announce a policy-that's not sufficient. We are now looking at real legislative changes and tangible impact on the ground."

The reforms states had to introduce in FY24 to avail of the central loans included improvements in the hous...