India climbs 12 Spots In Easiest Countries To Do Business Report
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been promoting his ‘Make In India’ campaign during the last 15 months and inviting businesses and investors from around the world to set up companies in India and make use of the wealth of resources at their disposable. The Indian government has also adjusted a number of laws to make it easier for businesses to enter the Indian market and do business.
Those efforts appear to have made an impact based on a recent report published by the World Bank entitled ‘Doing Business 2016‘. The business report looks at a total of a 189 countries and ranks them on a number of factors that determine how easy it is for companies to enter these countries and start business operations.
The report shows that India has jumped 12 places during the last 12 months which is a remarkable achievement. India now occupies the 130th spot on the list and is expected to jump more spots within the next 12 months.
In a statement, Kaushik Basu, World Bank’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President said
A forward movement of 12 spots in the ease of doing business by an economy of the size of India is a ‘remarkable achievement. For any big economy, a rank improvement of 12 is a remarkable achievement. 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.
The top five countries to do business in is led by Singapore, New Zealand, Denmark, South Korea and Hong Kong. China has also made progress and jumped 6 spots as it held the 90th spot in 2014 and now has moved up to the 84th spot. Pakistan has fallen behind as the country was ranked 128 on the list in 2014 and since then has fallen behind and now takes the 138th spot on the list.
One of the reasons for India making a huge leap forward was because the process for setting up a business in India is a lot more streamlined now. The government has eliminated a number of stipulations such as a having a certificate to commence business operations and paid-in minimum capital which encourages business to skip the bureaucracy and get right into operations. The world bank report also suggests that a number of changes made by the government will have a bigger impact as time progresses and that impact will be reflected within the next year’s rating.
