India jumps 14 places in World Bank's Doing Business Report 2020
India has made a big leap on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) rankings 2020, jumping 14 places from its 2019 ranking to the 63rd rank out of 190 countries. In the last five years, India has moved up 79 places, from 142 (in 2015) to 63 (2020).1
India has improved its rank in 7 out of the 10 parameters. Major improvements were registered in ‘resolving insolvency’, ‘registering property’, ‘dealing with construction permits, ‘paying taxes’, and ‘trading across borders. India has also been mentioned among the top 10 improvers on the EoDB rankings for the third consecutive year.2
Resolving insolvency has been made easier by promoting reorganization proceedings in practice.1 Government policies such as the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of 20162 and the fast track Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) for mid-sized companies3 have contributed to the improvement in India’s ranking on this parameter. The recovery rate under resolving insolvency has improved from 26.5% to 71.6% and the time is taken for resolving insolvency has reduced from 4.3 years to 1.6 years.4
Resolving insolvency happens to be one of the least reformed parameters. India, however, has improved its ranking from 108 in 2018 to 52 in 2019.5
India has improved its ranking on this parameter from 52 in 2018 to 27 in 2019.1 This improvement can be attributed to the streamlining in the process of obtaining construction permits. The cost of obtaining a construction permit and the time taken in obtaining a permit have also reduced.2
The introduction of an online single window has reduced the number of procedures as well as the time required to obtain a construction permit. It has features such as Common Application Form (CAF), digital signatures and auto-scrutiny of building plans.3
India’s ranking on this parameter has improved from 24 in 2018 to 22 in 2019.1 In 2014, India ranked 137.2
Major reforms that have led to the improvement in India’s ranking over the years include a reduction in the number of procedures, documentation, and time required to obtain an electricity connection.3 Electricity connection is provided within 7 days if no Right of Way (RoW) is required and within 15 days where RoW is required. 4
India’s ranking on the starting a business parameter has improved from 137 in 2018 to 136 in 2019.1 Abolishing filing fees for the SPICe company incorporation form, electronic memorandum of association and articles of association has helped India improve its ranking on this parameter.2
The Startup India initiative has helped build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and Startups in the country.3 Salient features of the Startup India initiative include a compliance regime based on self-certification, legal support and fast-tracking patent examination at lower costs, organizing Startup Fests for showcasing innovation and providing a collaboration platform, harnessing private sector expertise for incubator setup among others.4
India has improved from rank 121 in 2018 to 115 in 2019 on the ‘paying taxes’ parameter.1 Introduction of Goods and Service Tax (GST) and robust IT infrastructure of online return filing have been the major reforms in this indicator.2 Apart from this, online services for registration and return filing for employee insurance and the provident fund have eased paying taxes as well.3
