Doing business is still not easy, Eco Survey reveals
Setting up and operating services or manufacturing business in India faces a maze of laws, rules and regulations, finds the survey.
Chennai: The Economic Survey batted for improving ease of doing business by reducing procedural and documentation requirements.
Setting up and operating services or manufacturing business in India faces a maze of laws, rules and regulations, finds the survey.
Many of these are local requirements, such as burdensome documentation for police clearance to open a restaurant. Manufacturing units in India have to conform with 6,796 compliance items
“Opening a restaurant in Delhi requires 45 documents to get licence from the police, while one needs only 19 documents to obtain a gun. Starting a firm in India can take an average of 18 days and 10 procedures, which can be cumbersome, while in New Zealand it takes only half a day and one form to start a firm,” said K. Subramanian, India’s Chief Economic Advisor.
The survey identifies that ‘ease of doing business’ lies in ease of starting a business, regulating property, paying taxes and enforcing contracts.
Enforcing a contract in India takes 1,445 days on an average compared to just 216 days in New Zealand, and 496 days in China.
Furthermore, paying taxes takes up more than 250 hours in India compared to 140 hours in New Zealand, 138 in China and 191 in Indonesia. “This must be cleaned up and rationalised one segment at a time,” it said.
The Economic Survey 2019-20 projected the revival of economic growth to 6-6.5 per cent in the next fiscal beginning April 1 but suggested the government should relax the budget deficit target to boost growth from a decade low. The Survey, released a day before the Union Budget for 2020-21 is presented, called for cutting food subsidy while at the same time looking at businessmen with respect as they create wealth and jobs.