Lok Sabha Question No. 1065 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-17
Subject: World Bank Ranking on EoDB
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: Tejpratap Singh,Yadav, PRALHAD VENKATESH JOSHI, KONDA VISHWESHWAR REDDY, VIJAY KUMAR S.R., ASHOK SHANKARRAO CHAVAN, S. RAJENDRAN, KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH, T. RADHAKRISHNAN, SUDHEER GUPTA, KRISHNAN NARAYANASAMY RAMACHANDRAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

## DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL POLICY & PROMOTION

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1065.

TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY, THE 17 TH  DECEMBER, 2018.

## WORLD BANK RANKING ON EODB

## 1065.  SHRI TEJ PRATAP SINGH YADAV:

SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI:

SHRI KONDA VISHWESHWAR REDDY:

SHRI S.R. VIJAYAKUMAR:

SHRI ASHOK SHANKARRAO CHAVAN:

SHRI S. RAJENDRAN:

KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH:

SHRI T. RADHAKRISHNAN:

SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA:

SHRI K.N. RAMACHANDRAN:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY be pleased to state:

## वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री

- (a) whether  India  is  at  77th  position  in  the  recent  World  Bank  Ease  of  Doing Business (EoDB) ranking;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  launched  ease  of  doing  business  grand challenge;
- (d) if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the steps taken by the government to improve the ease of doing business in the country?

## ANSWER

वाणिज् य एवं उद्योग मंत्रालय में राज् यमंत्री (श्री सी.आर. चौधरी) THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHRI C.R. CHAUDHARY)

- (a): Yes, Madam.
- (b): The World Bank released the Doing Business Report (DBR), 2019 on 31 st October, 2018. India ranks 77 among 190 countries assessed by the Doing Business Team. India has improved its rank by 23 positions over  its  rank  of  100  in  the  DBR  2018  among  190  countries.  The indicator wise rank of India in World Bank's DBR 2019 is as follows:

|   S. No. | Indicator                         |   Rank |
|----------|-----------------------------------|--------|
|        1 | Starting a Business               |    137 |
|        2 | Dealing with Construction Permits |     52 |

|   3. | Getting Electricity           |   24 |
|------|-------------------------------|------|
|    4 | Registering Property          |  166 |
|    5 | Getting Credit                |   22 |
|    6 | Protecting Minority Investors |    7 |
|    7 | Paying Taxes                  |  121 |
|    8 | Trading Across Borders        |   80 |
|    9 | Enforcing Contracts           |  163 |
|   10 | Resolving Insolvency          |  108 |

(c): Yes, Madam.

(d) & (e): The details of Ease of Doing Business Grand Challenge and the steps taken by the Government to improve the ease of doing business in the country are annexed.

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## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO  PARTS (d) & (e) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1065 FOR ANSWER ON 17 TH  DECEMBER, 2018

## Ease of Doing Business Challenge:

Ease of Doing Business Grand Challenge was announced to plug the critical needs of Ease of Doing Business (EODB)  and find methods that can re-engineer existing processes using new cutting edge technologies such as AI, ML, Blockchain, IoT etc.

Eligibility :  Students,  Professionals,  Entrepreneurs,  Startups  and  all  Enterprises working  in  the  space  for  cutting-edge  technologies  can  participate  in  the  Grand Challenge.

## Problem Statements :-

1. To develop alternate Government processes for ease of issue of permission, license or registration by Government Departments.
2.        To  develop  an  app  that  allows  exporters  of  small  consignments  to  find  and book available spaces in partially filled cargo containers nearby.
3.        (Delhi): Development of a single portal for providing information to stakeholders on the land ownership details of deeds executed and encumbrances on immovable property.
4.        (Mumbai): Development  of  a  single portal for providing information to stakeholders on the land ownership details of deeds executed, and encumbrances on immovable property.
5.        To  develop  a  solution  for  small  businesses  to  ease  the  process  of  filing returns of GST.
6.         Prototype an internet connected device that takes readings and measurements  from  boilers  and  uploads  them  to  a  secure  online  register accessible to the business and inspecting departments of the State and the Central Government.
7.        Prototype a freeware, open source payroll software for MSMEs  that automatically  produces  registers  and  returns  for  EPFO,  ESIC  and  various State labour laws.

Incentives  for  Winners :  Top  3  teams  for  each  of  problem  statements  would  be given following prizes:

INR 3,00,000  - I Prize

INR 2,00,000  - II Prize

INR 1,00,000  - III Prize

The top team for each problem statement will work with the relevant Nodal Team to pilot his/her solutions. On  successful and  satisfactory implementation of the product/service, the solution can be adopted by the Department.

## Some  of  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  improve  the  Ease  of  Doing Business in the Country:

## (a) Starting A Business:

Starting  a  business  has  been  made  faster  by  introducing  a  single  form  SPICe (Simplified Proforma for Incorporating Company electronically) and merging five different applications in it i.e. Name reservation, Company incorporation, Director Identification  Number    (DIN),  Permanent  Account  Number  (PAN)  and  the  Tax Deduction/Collection  Account  Number  (TAN),  and  by  improving  the  online application system.

-  Launch of a new and simplified web based service i.e. R.U.N. (Reserve Unique Name) for reserving a name. This has also removed the requirement  to use a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) during name reservation.
-  The requirement to issue a physical PAN card has been eliminated. Additionally, PAN and TAN are mentioned in  the  Certificate  of  Incorporation  (CoI)  which  is considered as a sufficient proof for PAN and TAN.
-  Common registration for EPFO & ESIC is provided on Shram Suvidha Portal in Mumbai.
-  Registrations under Mumbai Shops & Establishments Act are provided instantly without any physical inspection.

## (b) Dealing with Construction Permits:

The process of obtaining a building permit has been streamlined and made faster and less expensive to obtain a construction permit.

-  Implementing  an  online  system  that  has  streamlined  the  process  of  obtaining building  permit  at  the  Municipality  of  New  Delhi  and  Municipality  of  Greater Mumbai.
-  It  also  improved  building  quality  control  by  introducing  decennial  liability  and insurance.

## (c) Getting Electricity:

-  In  Delhi,  service  line  charges  have  been  capped  to  INR  25,000/-  in  electrified areas for Low Tension loads up to 150 KW
-  Time  taken  by  the  utility  to  carry  out  external  connection  works  has  been reduced.

## (d) Access to credit :

Access to credit has been strengthened by amending its insolvency law. The new  amendment  in  the  Insolvency  and  Bankruptcy  Code  (Amendment)  Act, 2018 establishes that secured creditors are paid first during business liquidation, and hence have priority over other claims such as labor and tax.

## (e) Paying Taxes:

Paying  taxes  has  been  made  easier  by  replacing  many  indirect  taxes  with  a single indirect tax, Goods and Service Tax (GST), for the entire country.

-  The previous sales taxes including the central sales tax, CENVAT, state VAT and the service tax have been merged into the GST. Unification of these taxes will reduce the cascading effect of taxes and make taxes paid on inputs creditable to a higher percentage.
-  Corporate income tax has been reduced from 30% to 25% for companies with a turnover up to INR 250 crores
-  Administrative  charges  on  The  Employees'  Provident  Funds  Scheme,  1952 (EPFS) have been reduced in March 2017 from 0.85% to 0.65% of the monthly pay. The Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) administrative charges of 0.01% have been removed.

## (f) Trading Across Borders:

The  time  and  cost  to  export  and  import  has  been  reduced  through  various initiatives,  including  the  implementation  of  electronic  sealing  of  containers, upgradation of port infrastructure and allowing electronic submission of supporting documents with digital signatures.

-  Enhancement of risk-based inspections for both imports and exports, whereby only about 5% of goods are physically inspected.
-  Adoption  of  the  Advance  Bill  of  Entry  which  allows  importers  to  start  the process of customs clearance before the arrival of the vessel.
-  Upgrading equipment on the Nhava Sheva Port in Mumbai by adding 15 new Rubber Tyre Gantry Cranes. The Phase 1 of the Fourth Container Terminal at the  Jawaharlal  Nehru  Port  Trust,  with  an  additional  annual  capacity  of 2,400,000 TEUs, was completed in February 2018.
-  The new container terminal, Adani CMA Mundra Terminal Private Limited has been fully operational since June 2017, with an additional annual capacity of 1,300,000 TEUs.
-  Implemented in April 2018, e-Sanchit is an online application system, under the Single Window Interface for Trade (SWIFT) that allows traders to submit all supporting documents electronically with digital signatures.

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