India's Race for Business Ready: Navigating Global Standards

India is preparing for its inclusion in the World Bank's Business Ready (B-READY) report amidst challenges like business entry, labor regulations, and international trade. While leveraging global insights, India must champion local reforms to improve its scores, especially focusing on regulations and operational efficiencies in its diverse economy.

India is poised to enter the global spotlight as it prepares for inclusion in the World Bank's Business Ready (B-READY) report. This flagship initiative benchmarks the business environment and investment climate across economies worldwide.

According to the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), India faces significant hurdles in areas such as business entry, labor regulations, and international trade. These challenges could affect its potential scores in the upcoming report. The B-READY report, replacing the earlier Doing Business index, evaluates the regulatory framework and public services geared towards firms, assessing how efficiently these are combined in practice.

While countries like Singapore excel with streamlined processes, such as minimal cost online business registration, India continues to navigate multiple steps with incomplete digital integration. Meanwhile, labor regulations' implementation is uneven, and trade efficiency is hampered by customs delays and high costs. GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava suggests India focus on three key areas—Quality of Regulations, Effectiveness of Public Services, and Operational Efficiency—to enhance its standing.

(With inputs from agencies.)