Last year's major overhaul in policies & procedures made virtually no difference to WB's EoDB rankings. India which is ranked 185th in obtaining construction permits is set for a remarkable turnaround. "We are hoping to do extremely well this year in five categories: construction permits, starting a business, paying taxes, trading across borders, and resolving insolvency. We are already in the top 50 in three parameters out of 10. We are facing challenges in two criteria: enforcing contracts and registering property because of the complexity involved,” he said.

Sub-standard WB rankings were in: Obtaining construction permits (185), Enforcing contracts (178), Paying taxes (172), Starting a business (155), Trading across borders (143), Registering property (138) and Resolving insolvency (136).

Delhi 17 OECD 17 Delhi - 18?
Construction permits --------------------------------------------------
No. of procedures 29 12 || 8
Days to finalise 213 152 || 60
Cost as % of total 27% 1.6% || 3.8%
Building Control index 11 11.3 || N/A

Govt is determined to show its efforts have percolated to businesses on the ground. This includes improvements in paying taxes, insolvency and starting a business (link 1). Enforcing contracts will need further reforms to fast-track local commercial courts, speed up disposal of cases and establish e-courts. Commercial Courts and Arbitration laws are expected to speedily and effectively deal with complicated cases. Registration of property is a complex task best performed by States (link 2 & 3).

Mumbai 17 OECD 17 Mumbai - 18?
Starting a business -------------------------------------------------------
No. of procedures 14 5 || 5
Days to start 26 8.3 || 4
Cost as % of total 11.4%. 3.1% || ▼down

Enforcing contracts
India needs to set up fast-track commercial courts, dispose of cases quickly with minimum adjournments and establish e-courts for electronic filing of complaints, summons and payments, a government official said on condition of anonymity. State governments, local bodies, as well as the Supreme Court and high courts, also need to proactively pursue necessary reforms.

GST, digitalisation & Aadhar linking, Benami properties act, banking reforms, etc will reduce corruption and improve the business climate. Burdensome regulations, like the inflexible labour laws, have stunted labour-intensive sectors like textiles. Relaxation would bring economies of scale, competitiveness, jobs creation and formalisation of small suppliers (below).

In World Bank meeting, India eyes top 25 ranking in ease of doing business

❡ What is more, in the Indian case in particular, a large body of research clearly shows that productivity growth, the ultimate driver of economic growth, has been held back by burdensome regulation, especially labour regulation, which has choked off the growth of firms in India. 

Firms in India are smaller and less productive than they should be, and burdensome regulation is one important culprit. Is it not, after all, bizarre that a labour- abundant economy such as India is not a major producer and exporter of labour-abundant manufacturing goods and features some of the most capital-intensive production techniques in the world? 

In the apparel sector, bulk of firms have less than 10 workers. In China, most firms have 100 and even 1000 workers or more. It is impossible to be reap economies of scale nor make a mark as an exporter in an industry dominated by a mass of micro-enterprises. 

The fragmented nature of Indian industry is not the natural result of market forces, but rather due to burdensome regulation which punishes firms that attempt to grow and need the flexibility to hire and fire workers as market conditions warrant. ❡  HERE