India taken 7,000 steps to improve ease of doing business

NEW DELHI (INDIA): India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that over 7,000 steps, big and small, have been taken by the government so far to improve the ease of doing business in the country.nnShe also said that the ministry is working with all states to improve the business climate further.nn”Roughly about 7,000 big, small, medium and nano measures have been taken on ease of doing business. As a result of which, we feel that states have realised that ease of doing business is a major agenda and they also see the benefit on going on that route,” she told PTI.nnSteps taken to improve ease of doing business include fixing timeline for clearance of applications, de-licensing the manufacturing of many defence products, introduction of e-biz project for single window clearance, reduction in number of documents required for export and import, and mandatory filing of all returns on-line through a unified form.nnIn the World Bank’s latest ‘Doing Business’ 2017 report, India’s place remained unchanged from last year s original ranking of 130 among the 190 economies that were assessed on various parameters. Last year s ranking was revised however to 131 from which the country has improved its place by one spot.nnIndia has expressed disappointment at its rank remaining low, stating that efforts and reforms undertaken by the Centre and states have not been adequately captured in the ranking.nnThese ranks are based on ten parameters such as starting a business, construction permits and getting credit.nnThe government has been making efforts to further improve the ease of doing business and aims to bring the country in the top 50.nnImproving business climate helps attract both domestic and foreign investments.nnSource: Press Trust of India