Miles to go for India

While India has for the first time broken into the club of 100 nations easiest to do business in — as Subhayan Chakraborty’s front-page report, “India scores a century” (November 1) points out — this doesn’t offer much cause for celebration. 

Not to belittle the progress made, but for a country that is among the top five world economies and aspires to be a leader — that includes offering means of livelihood to its huge young workforce — it still has a long way to go. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India would break into the top 50 soon and was backed up by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. But Jaitley should note that the government has to score this goal. His 10-year goal should be to enter the top 10. That is the only way to resolve the country’s employment challenge. 

The government may not be able to provide large-scale employment because of growing automation in several sectors. But if many entrepreneurs come up, there would be greater ease of doing business.

While the headlines were celebratory, my enthusiasm dipped when I delved into the figures. Consider India’s rank on “starting a business”: From 155 in 2016, it was down to 156 in 2017. This is the most important parameter for aspiring entrepreneurs. 

I have two suggestions. The government should identify possible specific businesses in the micro and small sectors and include them in a list that contains comprehensive regulatory requirements for setting them up. Startup India should have an exclusive website with all information and guidance contained therein. This will bring clarity to budding entrepreneurs. There can also be a debate on archaic regulations that might be dispensed with.

Finance should be made available easily. Loans of up to Rs 1 crore could be available online from financial institutions; entrepreneurs should be able to sanction these themselves. This is will cut delays and is also a feasible proposition. 

Shiva Kumar, Mumbai

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