30-step jump in business ease list |
India`s fastest single-year jump in the World Bank`s Ease of Doing Business ranking has been a meticulously planned exercise. It began with the World Bank agreeing with the government that the survey (that underlies the ranking) should be conducted in two cities (Mumbai and Delhi) unlike the pre-2016 methodology of ranking reflecting the perception of business in Mumbai alone. But that was only the start. A bigger battle awaited the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP), which has been driving the process of easing business regulation in India. Three years ago, when PM Narendra Modi made a pitch for India to move into the league of Top 50 countries in the World Bank`s ranking in three years, Amitabh Kant, who was then DIPP secretary, got down to work out a checklist. He found that changes were possible within the legal framework on most issues. His successor Ramesh Abhishek took the process forward, often working with municipal bodies and utilities in Mumbai and Delhi. It took a while for him and Kant to get the Mumbai and Delhi power distributors to move to an online system for applying for connection and collecting payments. India`s rank on the parameter of `Getting Electricity` shot up from 170 in 2015 to 26 in 2017. Delhi Jal Board was persuaded to lower the fee, something that the World Bank has not acknowledged as yet.
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