Lettes: Doing business is tougher than World Bank suggests

The World Bank's Doing Business report, ranking India 179 out of 189 countries in terms of starting a business, underlines the fact that doing business in India is not easy. But the ranking could have been worse if the data had been more accurate, as any chartered accountant who has had to register a company in India can assert. The table ("Business as usual?") shows a comparison between World Bank data and actual data.

If we analyse the differences, the actual cost to register a company in India is lower then estimated by the World Bank. But here comes the serious issue. It takes 35 days for a company to be registered in India. Compared globally, India would be nowhere. In New Zealand, a company can be registered in a single day. Even after 60 years of independence, India has been unable to reduce the time limit for registration of companies.

Also, according to entrepreneurindia.com, India is home to the second-highest number of unregistered businesses. Hectic compliances, 35 days to register, associated legal cost and professional arrogance are the main reasons for this, as a result of which the government also loses tax and other related revenue from these businesses.

Around 32 per cent of India's population is below the poverty line and the unemployment rate is 3.8 per cent, which means millions of people are still jobless. No country with these statistics can grow. There is an urgent need to promote entrepreneurship to create jobs. For that, India needs to review its policy and reform the company registration process, which is regulated by the ministry of corporate affairs.

Paras Mehra Gurgaon
www.quickcompany.in

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