New Delhi: In a big boost for the Narendra Modi government, India climbed another 23 places in the World Bank’s ease of doing business list to rank at 77th spot for 2018.
In the last two years the country has climbed 53 notches, and has become the top ranked country in South Asia for the first time and third among the BRICS nations.
The report recognises India as one of the top 10 improvers in this year’s assessment, for the second successive time. India is the only large country this year to have achieved such a significant improvement.
The jump is significant, as it comes after last year’s 30-rung climb when India moved into the top 100 rankings among 190 countries.
The report will bring significant cheer for the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre as it endorses its reform credentials at a time when it’s embroiled in a perception battle amid a series of crises, ranging from the widening rift with the Reserve Bank of India, an unprecedented crisis involving the top brass in the Central Bureau of Investigation and the opposition onslaught over the Rafale fighter jet deal ahead of the 2019 elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his delight at the improvement in India's ranking. The PM said his government was committed towards economic reforms that foster industry, investment and opportunities.
Delighted at yet another rise in India’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ rank. We are unwavering in our commitment towards economic reforms, which will ensure an environment that fosters industry, investment and opportunities. @WorldBank— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 31, 2018
Buoyed by the climb in ranking, finance minister Arun Jaitley said India can crack into top 50 if it improves on time taken for registering real estate, starting business and enforcement of contracts.
Addressing a news conference after the World Bank released its 2019 report, Jaitley said areas that require improvement include time taken for registering property, starting business, insolvency and taxation, and enforcement of contract areas.
The BJP-led government, since coming to the power, has reduced red-tape and corruption, and its reforms have ensured India jumps ranks from 142 to 77, he said.
In its annual 'Doing Business' report, World Bank said India improved on six of the 10 parameters relating to starting and doing business in a country.
These parameters include ease of starting a business, construction permits, getting electricity, getting credit, paying taxes, trade across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.
The most dramatic improvements have been registered in the indicators related to 'Construction Permits' and 'Trading Across Borders'.
In the 'Grant of Construction Permits' indicator, India’s ranking improved from 181 last year to 52 in this year’s report—a jump of 129 ranks in a single year.
In the 'Trading Among Borders' indicator, India’s rank improved by 66 positions, moving from 146 in 2017 to 80 in 2018.
Further, India now ranks in the top 25 in the world on three indicators - getting electricity, getting credit and protecting minority investors, on which it ranks at seven.
The doing business report ranks countries on the basis of distance to frontier (DTF), a score that shows the gap of an economy to the global best practice. India’s DTF score improved to 67.23 from 60.76 last year.
India was ranked at the 142nd position among 190 nations when the Modi government came to power in 2014. It rose to 100th spot in the last ranking from the 131st rank in the previous year.
New Zealand topped the list of 190 countries in ease of doing business, followed by Singapore, Denmark, and Hong Kong. The United States is placed eight and China has been ranked 46th. Neighbouring Pakistan is placed at 136.
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