The World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index has year after year shown that India is among the most difficult countries to do business. The report for the year 2013 -14 says its position has worsened, and it has slipped by two rungs from the 140th to the 142nd in the ranking of 189 countries. India needs great effort to get its act together to move up from being the lowest ranked country in South Asia, what with Sri Lanka (99), Nepal (108), the Maldives (116), Bhutan (125) and Pakistan (128) ranking higher. Singapore, the most conducive business hub, topped the list for a ninth straight year. It takes just two days to set up a business in Singapore, which was ranked as the third most globalised economy among 60 of the world's largest economies in a recent Ernst and Young 2011 Globalisation Index. The country’s rating is below those of little known countries like Tonga and Lesotho and a strife-torn Pakistan. The low position is not an indicator of India’s business and development potential but of the obstacles in starting and doing business here. Unless these obstacles are ironed out and completely removed the potential of the country cannot be realised.

It takes 105 days to get a power connection, 47 days to register a property, 2 years to get pollution clearance certificate and 4 to 5 years to solve an insolvency issue or settle a legal dispute. This is all because of bureaucratic and legal hurdles. The legal and police reforms are overdue in the country. There is often the need for some luck, influence or resorting to illegal means too to get the required work done in so many days. The index was prepared on the basis of some essential parameters like the number of procedures involved, the time taken for obtaining permits and connections, enforcing contracts. In enforcing contracts, the country is virtually at the bottom of 184th position. Even implementation od our laws get the last priority because of high level corruption in the country at all levels.

The report makes it clear how far India has to go to make itself business-friendly. A whole lot of procedures have to be changed and laws amended accordingly. A business chamber recently listed 105 such laws, which need review. It is not just a matter of changing or easing rules. It involves changing work culture, habits and a whole system of actions and attitudes. Linked with these are the problems of corruption, mismanagement, inefficiency and red tape in the bureaucracy. The multiplication of agencies involved in clearances and implementation is another problem.

Acquisition of land to set up an industry is very difficult under the amended law, which may need more changes. Taxation laws need changes, and it is necessary to expedite the GST proposal and improve tax administration. Major reforms have to be made in labour laws and practices where only a beginning is being made now. Investment rules and policies have to be further liberalised. The need to increase FDI limit in the insurance sector is an example. Lack of and inadequacy of infrastructure is another hurdle in starting and running businesses and industry.

The NDA government has set a target of reaching a rank below 50 in the next two years. Programmes like Make in India will not make an impact and progress unless the environment to do business is improved in the country. The onus is on the states also because many rules and regulations are made and their implementation done at their level.

India's best performance was on the indicator of protecting minority investors and the worst was in the field of enforcing contracts to resolve commercial disputes and dealing with construction permits. Starting a business became easier with a considerable reduction of the registration fee but it also became more difficult due to the requirement of obtaining a certificate for the commencement of business operations. Hopefully, the ranking would improve the next year because of the business-friendly measures already taken by the Modi government. These include extending the validity period of industrial licences from three years to seven years and a single-window labour-compliance process for industries. Only then would it be possible to attract greater foreign investment and secure a higher World Bank ranking.

Make in India is an international marketing campaigning slogan coined by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi on September 25, 2014 to attract businesses from around the world to invest and manufacture in India.

The major objective behind this initiative is to focus upon the heavy industries and public enterprises while generating employment in India.

The highlights and purpose of Come - Make in India are-

  • The campaign, 'Make in India' is aimed at making India a manufacturing hub and economic transformation in India while eliminating the unnecessary laws and regulations, making bureaucratic processes easier and shorter, and make government more transparent, responsive and accountable.
  • The government emphasized upon the framework which include the time-bound project clearances through a single online portal which will be further aided by the eight-members team dedicated to answering investor queries within 48 hours and addressing key issues including labour laws, skill development and infrastructure.
  • This campaign basically gives hope to the unemployed to find a decent job if not big jobs as manufacturing leads to creation of lot of service sector activity. But India will have to make sure to focus on quality education rather than just skill development. It is also hoped that this is a precursor to change some labor laws that would make investing in manufacturing more attractive to Indians as well as other nations.
  • With these reforms of the Modi Government in view, let us hope that India’s ranking in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index substantially improve next year beside economy edging towards a double-digit growth challenging China.