India has seen a big improvement in the annual Ease of Doing Business report of the World Bank issued on Thursday as it moved up 14 places to the 63rd spot in the rankings.
India, which was ranked 77th among 190 countries in the previous ranking, has shown an improvement of 14 places compared to its position in 2018. 2018 rankings were also an improvement of 23 places. Even though the jump in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking is remarkable, India missed its target of getting within the top 50.
The country’s score improved from 67.3 last year to 71.0 this year, as per the survey released by the World Bank on Thursday morning.
The indicator measures the performance of countries across 10 different dimensions in the 12-month period ending May 1, 2019. The ten areas of study are defined as starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency.
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Reportedly, the latest report has named the economies of India and nine other nations as the countries that have shown the most “notable improvement” in the ease of doing business. The improvement in the ranking was possible because of four reforms, especially in categories such as starting a business, dealing with construction permits, trading across borders and resolving insolvency. The report also says there were improvements in the efficiency of acquiring building permits.
The country has been ranked ninth among the most improved, with a score of 3.5 in the change in ‘Doing Business’ score. Saudi has been ranked at the top of this list with a score of 7.7, while Pakistan has been ranked sixth with a score of 5.6.
The report stated that India has conducted a remarkable reform effort with World Bank noting that India has joined the list of top 10 improvers for the third year in a row, which it said was commendable given the size of the economy.
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Praising the Narendra Modi government’s flagship ‘Make in India’ scheme, the report said that it has helped attract foreign investment, boost the private sector and enhance the country’s overall competitiveness.
“In 2015 the government’s goal was to join the 50 top economies on the ease of doing business ranking by 2020. The administration’s reform efforts targeted all of the areas measured by Doing Business, with a focus on paying taxes, trading across borders, and resolving insolvency. The country has made a substantial leap upward, raising its ease of doing business ranking from 130 in Doing Business 2016 to 63 in Doing Business 2020,” the report said.
India was declared the fifth best performing nation in reforming the business environment this year. The country had improved its ranks in six of the 10 sub-categories used by the Bank to judge the business climate.
The ten top-ranking countries with respect to the indicator were – New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong SAR China, Denmark, Republic of Korea, United States, Georgia, United Kingdom, Norway, and Sweden.
