India has moved up 14 places in the World Bank’s ease of doing business ranking to occupy the 63rd spot. India was also among the top 10 performers on the list, which was released on Thursday, for the third time in a row.
World Bank president David Malpass will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Thursday.
A government official, who didn’t wish to be named, said that the corporate tax reforms announced the central government has not been included this time and India is likely to be in the top 50 next year. New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong topped the list this year.
Last month, the government slashed corporate tax rates for domestic manufacturers from 30% to 22%, whilethe rate was reduced from 25% to 15% for new manufacturing companies provided they do not claim any exemptions.
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“given the size of India’s economy”. Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign focused on attracting foreign investment, boosting the private sector — manufacturing in particular — and enhancing the country’s overall competitiveness, the World Bank report said.
The government turned to the Doing Business indicators to show investors India’s commitment to reform and to demonstrate tangible progress. In 2015, the government’s goal was to join the 50 top economies on the ease of doing business ranking by 2020.
The ease of doing business rankings come at a time when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and various rating agencies have slashed India’s growth forecast.The Indian economy is witnessing a slowdown. The gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed to 5% in the quarter ended June, the slowest pace of growth since March 2013.
The other countries on this year’s ‘top 10 performers’ list are Saudi Arabia (62), Jordan (75), Togo (97), Bahrain (43), Tajikistan (106), Pakistan (108), Kuwait (83), China (31) and Nigeria (131).