The bank said developing countries had quickened the pace of reforms but the highest positions in the list of 189 countries in its annual 2016 Doing Business report were again taken by high-income states. Kaushik Basu, World Bank’s Chief Economist said in a conference call that for the size of Indian economy, a 12 spot jump is a remarkable achievement.
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Observing that the potential to see kind of a rapid economic growth in India is very high, Claros said it has very favourable demographics, and to the extent that a few of the bottlenecks that the Doing Business data identified in India are removed, the potential benefits could be quite large.
“I am grateful that the World Bank has recognised that India is now becoming an easier place to do business…”
However, in the area of protecting minority interests of shareholders, India is ranked at eight, its best ranking across all parameters. It is important however to recognise that this is just a start.
The NDA-2 steps: The biggest improvement in the processes happened in the past year.
“Entrepreneurs in East Asia and Pacific are seeing reforms that cut across multiple sectors, from reducing barriers for opening a new business and making tax compliance easier, to improving regulations in the credit market and getting access to electricity”, said Rita Ramalho, Manager of the Doing Business project.
Similarly, there is a committee working on removing complications in the Companies Act. “There is still a long way to go”, he said.
The report praised India for easing the process of starting a business by eliminating the minimum capital requirement and the need to obtain a certificate to commence business operations.
From ten areas used for the annual ease of doing business measurement, Thailand showed an improvement only in the issuance of construction permits. “Toward that end the utility in Delhi eliminated an internal wiring inspection by the Electrical Inspectorate – and now instead of two inspections for the same goal, there is only one”.
It used to take several months for a new business to get all the required approvals from Government officials back in 2005. “Now companies can get connected to the grid, and get on with their business, 14 days sooner than before”, the report has said.
Pre-registration processes simpler: The country also figures among those that simplified preregistration and registration formalities such as publication, notarisation, inspection and other requirements.
More key reforms under way: Apart from these steps taken there are more reform in the pipeline.
In the key area of construction permits too, the government has initiated reforms by starting work on setting up a single-window system in Mumbai.
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The report also notes the increasing use of internet for entrepreneurs that facilitates business across the world.
