India Jumps 23 Spots to Rank 77 on World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ Index

With a leap of 23 notches, India has secured 77th place in World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ Index, which was released on Oct.31. The World Bank ranks 190 economies of the world annually based on feedback given by businesses.

Last year, India was placed at the 100th position in the same ranking. Improvement in India’s ranking shows that the country has shown a significant improvement in terms of giving entrepreneurs a conducive environment to start their business in the country.

Among the 190 countries, India’s rank is in double digits but among South Asian countries, it has secured the top position, which shows it as most business-friendly nation in the region.

In the report, “Doing Business 2019: Training for Reform,” India has also been placed among top 10 improvers globally. The report has said that India has shown significant improvements on six of the ten parameters, which include ease of starting a business, construction permits, getting electricity, getting credit, paying taxes, trade across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency.

“India, which is a top improver for a second consecutive year, implemented six reforms in the past year and advanced to the 77th place in the global ranking. India is now the region’s top-ranked economy,” said the statement released by World Bank.

Improvement in India’s ranking has brought some relief to the Indian government which has been facing strong dissent from opposition parties at domestic front while general elections are scheduled for next year, reported PTI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said that his government is unwavering in its commitment toward economic reforms, tweeted:

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

Besides India, Afghanistan has been marked as global top improver in South Asia. It is for the first time that two of the region’s economies have earned coveted spots in this year’s global top improvers. India’s northern neighbour China is placed in top ten improvers list.

Amitabh Kant, CEO of Niti Ayog, said that he hopes to see India in top-25 countries in World Bank’s ‘ease of doing business’ ranking in the next three years, reported PTI.

The news agency quoted Kant as saying, “This is a spectacular performance (jump in rankings).. No country of this size and complexity has achieved this…Jump of 65 positions in three years… It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to reach within top 50 positions in 5 years. It is very important to reach within the top 25 in 3 years.”

In the current list of top 10 economies in the World Bank’s annual ‘ease of doing business’ rankings New Zealand, Singapore and Denmark are at first three places for the second consecutive year. Hong Kong SAR, China; Republic of Korea; Georgia; Norway; United States; the United Kingdom and FYR Macedonia are the other countries mentioned in the top 10.

While underlining the flaws in these rankings of World Bank, The Wire said that “its sources of data collection are limited to two cities only which are Delhi and Mumbai.”

It further said in its report that these rankings “do little to provide a comprehensive picture of investment climate.”