India's jump to the 63rd position on the World Bank's ease of doing business ranking is a testimony to the remarkable improvement in the country's business climate owing to the series of reforms undertaken by the Narendra Modi-led government, industry bodies and experts said on Thursday.
Enthused by India's 14-notch jump on the World Bank's 'Doing Business' report, industry leaders as well as startups said it will prove to be a shot in the arm for the country by attracting foreign investments, augmenting business opportunities and accelerating job creation.
Industry bodies also exuded confidence that India will climb the rankings further to be among the top 50 nations, as envisioned by the Prime Minister.
"This jump in country's ranking comes as no surprise to the members of the industry who have been witnessing a remarkable change in the business climate over the last few years, owing to the series of reform initiatives being introduced at the Central as well as state levels," CII President Vikram Kirloskar said.
"To be amongst the top 10 improvers for the third year in a row is commendable and speaks volumes about the effort that the government is putting in to unshackle the economy," veteran industrialist Adi Godrej said.
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Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and CEO - India, South East Asia, Middle East & Africa, CBRE, said favourable reforms across sectors will further drive economic growth, which in turn, will push up India's overall ranking.
"Reformist credentials of the @narendramodiji's government has unlocked yet another milestone. From 142nd to 63rd place in the @WorldBank ranking in 2019 is a great achievement for a growing economy and it would boost opportunity for foreign trade #EaseOfDoingBusiness," Assocham President Balkrishan Goenka tweeted.
Stating that improvement in the ranking is the true reflection of the diligent efforts, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry President D K Aggarwal said the government should focus on reforms in land acquisition, implementation of fixed term employment in all the states and de-criminalisation of businesses.
Stringent labour laws are a major roadblock to enhance production possibility frontiers and employment generation in the economy, he added.
"Going ahead, we look forward to further improvement in ease of doing business to the level of below 50 in the next year's ease of doing business rankings," Aggarwal said.
Sudhir Kapadia, National Tax Leader, EY India, said India would do well to focus on judicial reforms, building dispute resolution capacity and encouraging alternative forms of dispute resolution like arbitration and mediation.
Ranen Banerjee, Leader Public Finance and Economics, PwC India said the jump in ranking is a sentiment boosting news. It has come at a time when global investors are looking at relocation or additional locations for their manufacturing operations to mitigate their geopolitical risks emerging from the trade wars.
Bhavin Turakhia, Founder and CEO, Flock, said the jump in ranking augurs well for the startup ecosystem and enhances India's perception as a global business destination.
Shashank Dixit, CEO, Deskera said several initiatives taken by the government, such as relaxing norms for obtaining a building permit and electronic submission of documents, will go a long way in boosting the startup ecosystem and provide a much-needed fillip to India's GDP growth.
Javed Tapia, Founder, Slonkit said the 14-notch jump to the 63rd position bears strong testimony to India becoming one of the preferred destinations for business across the globe. "This will enhance foreign investments into the country, augment business opportunities and accelerate job creation," he added.
India jumped 14 places to the 63rd position on the World Bank's ease of doing business ranking released on Thursday, riding high on the government's flagship 'Make in India' scheme and other reforms attracting foreign investment.
The country also figured among the the top 10 most improved countries for the third time in a row.
The rankings come at a time when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and various rating agencies have slashed the country's growth forecasts amid a slowdown in the global economy.
The Indian economy had decelerated for the fifth consecutive quarter in April-June, with GDP expanding by a meagre 5 per cent, down from 8 per cent recorded a year earlier.
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, the country jumped 23 places to the 77th position on the back of reforms related to insolvency, taxation and other areas.
In its report, the World Bank commended the reform efforts undertaken by the country "given the size of India's economy".
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