The Department of Industrial Promotion and Internal Trade (DPIIT), in collaboration with the World Bank, has announced the Ease of Doing Business rankings (first released in 2015) in September 2020. The rankings are based on the implementation of the Business Reforms Action Plan 2019, via a video-conference, chaired by Union finance minister. The plan included 181 reform points covering 45 business regulatory areas, such as access to information, single window system, labour, and environment. This exercise aims at promoting competition among states to improve the business climate to attract domestic and foreign investments.
As per the list, Andhra Pradesh bagged the top rank among states for the third consecutive time, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Telangana, which were at 12th and 2nd positions in 2018. These rankings are a testimony to the investor-friendly commitment of these states, particularly Andhra Pradesh.
Besides them, Madhya Pradesh got the 4th place, Jharkhand (5th), Chhattisgarh (6th), Himachal Pradesh (7th), Rajasthan (8th), West Bengal (9th), and Gujarat (10th). Delhi’s position improved to 12th from 23rd in the last edition, while Gujarat slipped from 5th place in 2018 to 10th in 2019. On the other hand, Haryana slipped to 16th position, Assam stood at 20th, J&K at 21st, Goa at 24th, Bihar at 26th and Kerala 28th place, whereas Tripura was ranked at the bottom 36th.
India has jumped 14 places to the 63rd position in the World Bank’s latest ‘Doing Business’ report.