India's rank in the "Doing Business Report", released by the World Bank, has moved up by four notches, giving a boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push to make the country appear in the top 50 list in three years.
The World Bank has ranked India at the 130th position in its "Ease of Doing Business" index, up 12 places compared to last year's ranking.
"For any big economy, a rank improvement of 12 is a remarkable achievement. Going from 142 in the world to 130, as India has done, is very good sign. It gives a good signal about the way things are moving in India," World Bank's Chief Economist and Senior Vice President Kaushik Basu told PTI.
Doing Business 2016: Measuring Regulatory Quality and Efficiency, is a World Bank Group flagship publication, the 13th in a series of annual reports measuring the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it.
Doing Business measures regulations affecting 11 areas of the life of a business. Ten of these areas are included in this year's ranking on the ease of doing business: 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.
While China is ranked at 84, Pakistan stood at 138th position in the annual study that ranks 189 countries based on business environment in the respective country.
The list is topped by Singapore followed by New Zealand, Denmark, South Korea, Hong Kong, Britain and the US.
The improvement in India's rank is due to two reforms made by the Modi government in the past one year, the World Bank said.
After coming into power in May last year, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has taken various measures to bring in more foreign investment and boost its manufacturing activity through its 'Make in India' initiative.
The government has put a lot on priority on "simplification and rationalisation of existing rules" and making use of information technology (IT) to "make governance more efficient and effective."
Some of the steps taken by the government include doing away with minimum paid-up capital for companies, facilitating the incorporation of companies with one form, and cutting down the documentation work for exports and imports.
From 1 May, the Ministry Of Corporate Affairs started providing a single integrated company incorporation form in place of eight forms required earlier, making compliance and reporting procedures easier for businesses.
"In the past year India eliminated the paid-in minimum capital requirement and streamlined the process for starting a business. More reforms are ongoing - in starting a business and other areas measured by Doing Business - though the full effects have yet to be felt," it said.
