We commend the states that have shown greater determination in undertaking the 98 reform measures intended to improve ease of doing business (EDB). But we recommend curbing any temptation to go gaga over the results of the survey done by the World Bank’s India office in this regard. The simple fact is that not one state has acomplete checklist of all the permits, registrations and no-objection certificates to be obtained by a would-be entrepreneur. In no state is the system of land records efficient and guaranteed to vest title with unquestioned ownership. Courts remain dysfunctional. In order to achieve the commendable goal set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to improve India’s position in the World Bank’s global EDB rankings, much more must be done.
Some tasks are the Centre’s. India ranks 186th out of 189 countries on enforcing contracts. Even if states improve the lower courts, disputes will end up in the higher judiciary, whose expansion and reform lies with the Centre. There is little to show by way of improvement on this score. India ranks 136th in resolving insolvency. We need a functional bankruptcy code to expedite that. India needs a Torrens system of registering land, in which the owner’s name for any plot of land is directly entered into a registry that is maintained and guaranteed by the government, so that chains of titles, which are prone to dispute, no longer matter. India is ranked a creditable 36th in ease of getting credit, to our small businesses’ incredulous delight. Now that Sahara will cease to operate, expect this rank to slip — informal remains most small businesses’ source of credit, whatever India’s ranking.