India leaps 14 ranks to 63 on World Bank's ease of doing business

India jumped 14 places to 63rd position on World Bank's ease of doing business ranking released on Thursday, riding high on government's flagship 'Make in India' scheme and or reforms attracting foreign investment. country also figured among top 10 performers on list for third time in a row. rankings come at a time when Reserve Bank of India (RBI), World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and various rating ncies have slashed country's growth forecasts amid a slowdown in global ecomy.

Last year, India jumped 23 places to 77th position

India was ranked 142nd among 190 nations when Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014. Four years of reform pushed up India's rank to 100th in World Bank's 'Doing Business' 2018 report. It was 130th in 2017 when it was ranked lower than Iran and Uganda. Last year, country jumped 23 places to 77th position on back of reforms related to insolvency, taxation and or areas.

World Bank commended reform efforts

In its 'Doing Business' 2020 report, World Bank commended reform efforts undertaken by country "given size of India's ecomy". "This is third year in a row that India makes to top 10 in Doing Business, which is a success which very few countries have done over 20 years of project, Without exception, or countries that have done this are very small, population-wise, and homogeneous," Simeon Djankov, Director of Development Ecomics at World Bank told PTI in an interview.

"India is first country of its type to achieve that. It has jumped this year by 14 positions," he said. Apart from India, or countries on this year's 'top 10 performers' list are Saudi Arabia (62), Jordan (75), Togo (97), Bahrain (43), Tajikistan (106), Pakistan (108), Kuwait (83), China (31) and Nigeria (131).

Prime Minister Modi's 'Make in India' campaign focused on attracting foreign investment, boosting private sector manufacturing in particular and enhancing country's overall competitiveness, World Bank said in its report. government turned to Doing Business indicators to show investors India's commitment to reform and to demonstrate tangible progress. In 2015, government's goal was to join 50 top ecomies on ease of doing business ranking by 2020.

While competition to move up ladder would increase and become much tougher, India is on track to be within top 50 of Ease of Doing business in next year or two, Djankov told PTI in response to a question. And to come under 25 or below 50, Modi government needs to anunce and start implementing next set of ambitious reforms w, as se reforms take a few years to be realized on ground, he said.

" administration's reform efforts targeted all of areas measured by Doing Business, with a focus on paying taxes, trading across borders, and resolving insolvency. country has made a substantial leap urd, raising its ease of doing business ranking from 130 in Doing Business 2016 to 63 in Doing Business 2020, report said.

Successful implementation of Insolvency And Bankruptcy Code

One of main reasons for improvement in India's ranking this year goes to successful implementation of Insolvency And Bankruptcy Code, World Bank official said. "Before implementation of reform, it was very burdensome for secured creditors to seize companies in default of ir loans," report said. "Since its implementation, more than 2,000 companies have used new law. Of se, about 470 have commenced liquidation and more than 120 have approved reorganization plans, with remaining cases still pending," it added.

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In past, foreclosure was most common procedure reported by legal practitioners in both Delhi and Mumbai under case study assumptions measured by resolving insolvency indicator set, with an approximate duration of 4.3 years, report said. "Reorganization has become most likely procedure for viable companies as measured by Doing Business, increasing overall recovery rate from 27 to 72 cents on dollar," bank said.

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In addition to resolving insolvency, significant improvements were registered in starting a business, dealing with construction permits and trading across borders, report said. "India made starting a business easier by abolishing filing fees for SPICE (Simplified Proforma for Incorporating a Company Electronically) company incorporation form, electronic memorandum of association, and articles of association," it said.

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Delhi streamlined process, reduced time and cost of obtaining construction permits, and improved building quality control by strengning professional certification requirements. Mumbai streamlined process of obtaining a building permit and made it faster and less expensive to get a construction permit. India made trading across borders easier by enabling post-clearance audits, integrating trade stakeholders in a single electronic platform, upgrading port infrastructures, and enhancing electronic submission of documents, report said. New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong topped list this year. 

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