India Jumps 23 Spots In World Bank's 'Ease Of Doing Business' Index, Ranks 77

India has shot up by 23 spots to reach the 77th position among 190 nations in World Bank's Ease of Doing Business ranking. The advance - the second big jump in a row - marks a huge step forward in Narendra Modi government's efforts to ease processes, project a business-friendly environment, and draw in foreign investment.

Last year, India progressed 30 positions to reach the top 100.

When the NDA came to power in 2014, India stood 142nd in World Bank's "Doing Business" list.

"We have made progress in leaps and bounds, probably the most significant in the history of Ease of Doing Business," Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, underscoring that to make significant progress, one has to "literally crack the code" and work on the bottlenecks.

The latest jump comes in an election year, as the government is under opposition attack for the rise in petrol prices, the fall of the rupee and the differences with the Reserve Bank of India. Besides, the Congress has persistently pointed to what it calls the "failure" of PM Modi's "Make in India" initiative. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has consistently attacked the government, saying instead of Make in India, "Everything is made in China".

In its annual 'Doing Business' 2019 report, the World Bank said India has improved on six of the 10 parameters on starting and doing business in a country. The checklist includes ease of starting a business, construction permits, getting electricity, getting credit, paying taxes, trade across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency, reported news agency Press Trust of India.

India has registered huge improvement in 6 of the 10 indicators and has moved closer to international best practices, the finance ministry said.

The biggest improvements have been in the indicators related "construction permits" and "trading across borders", the ministry added. In the area of construction permits, the country's ranking has improved by a whopping 129 points, 66 in "trading across borders", the ministry said.

Marking areas where the country still needs to improve, Mr Jaitley mentioned starting of business, in which the country ranked 137, paying taxes and enforcing of contracts, which he said "remains poor".

The consistent progress has paced India among the "top 10 improvers" for the second consecutive year, said the Secretary of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. The country now ranks first among South Asian countries, compared to the sixth slot it held in 2014, he added.