Economic Survey 2020: Ease Of Doing Business In India—Reality Check

• Registering a property in Delhi and Mumbai takes 49 and 68 days, respectively, while it takes 9 days in China and 3.5 days in New Zealand.

• It takes an average of 18 days to set up a business in India. In New Zealand, it just takes half-a-day with a single form and minimal cost.

• While it takes approximately four years to enforce a contract in India, Brazil and Indonesia spend 2.2 and 1.1 years, respectively.

• In Hong Kong it takes just over two months to obtain a construction permit, while in Delhi it takes almost four months. Add to that 35 days to get water and sewer connections.

• While opening a restaurant in China or Singapore requires only four licenses, in India there are atleast 12-16 key licenses and many more approvals needed.

• Manufacturing units in India have to conform with 6,796 compliance items.

The Economic Survey for 2019-2020 holds a mirror to India’s doing-business processes, while acknowledging that the country has made substantial gains in the World Bank’s Ease Of Doing Business rankings from 142 in 2014 to 63 in 2019.

It points out that whether starting a new business, registering a property or enforcing a contract—India lags...often far behind. But the story that makes the case the best is when an export assignment is tracked from an apparel factory in Delhi to Maine, USA, via India’s largest seaport, Nhava Sheva in Maharashtra.

• After the shipment leaves the factory gate in Delhi, it takes five days to reach the port.
• Six processes in the port can take up to 14 days.
• Then the consignment travels for 19 days by sea to reach Houston, U.S.
• U.S. Customs takes at most a day’s time to clear the consignment (as long as paperwork in order).
• The consignment then reaches the buyer’s warehouse in Maine within two days.

The survey also notes improvements in air cargo transfers—citing a similar tracking of an electronics export consignment that’s AEO certified.