World Bank Report: India Up by 12 Spots on 'Ease of Doing Biz'

BANGALORE: The efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make India,  the leading destination for investments is finally reaping results as the nation ranked 12 places up compared to last ranking on ‘Ease of Doing Business’. India now placed on rank 130 amongst other 189 countries, report NDTV.

1) The initial ranking by the World Bank in 2015 placed India at rank 142 which was later revised to 134 using a new methodology.

2) Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants the nation to feature among the top 50 countries on this list of ease of doing business and this revised ranking is advancing towards the same aim. 

3) Neighboring nations China and Pakistan ranked 84 and 138 respectively. Pakistan slipped 10 spots whereas China moved up by 6 spots since the last year’s reports. Singapore, New Zealand and Denmark secured the first 3 ranks on the list while South Sudan, Libya and Eritrea were placed at the bottom 3.

4) The revised ranking placing India 12 spots up has been termed as a "remarkable achievement" by Chief Economist Kaushik Basu, World Bank. "Going from 142 in the world to 130, as India has done, is very good sign. It gives a good signal about the way things are moving in India," he added.

5) The countries were evaluated on the basis of 10 indicators such as easiness of starting a business and how makes way to have foreign investments. Interestingly, the revised report says that it takes 29 days to initiate a business in India today.

6) The limitation of minimum capital requirement for starting a business was eradicated by the government in May 2015. The requirement to get hold of a certificate to initiate business venture was also eliminated which eventually contributed to this surge in the rankings.

7) The sector of granting power to businesses marked the biggest improvement for India where the ranking jumped from 99 in 2015 to 70 in 2016, the World Bank said. "Now companies can get connected to the grid, and get on with their business, 14 days sooner than before," the report said.

8)"More reforms are ongoing - in starting a business and other areas measured by Doing Business - though the full effects have yet to be felt," said World Bank.

9) India's ranked 155th in terms of starting a business, 183th in dealing with construction permits, 70th in getting electricity, 138th in registering property, 42nd in getting credit, 8th in protecting minority investors, 157th in paying taxes, 133th in trading across borders, 178th in enforcing contracts and 136th in resolving insolvency.

10) Finance Minister Arun Jaitley looks forward to better ranking the next year. "A large number of steps which we have already taken are going to be reflected in the rankings next year. These rankings are only up to June 1 and some of those steps, whose impact is not seen on the ground, as yet have not been factored into this," he said.

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