Ease of doing business: Afghanistan tops '10 economies improving the most', India ranked 5th

The World Bank in its "ease of doing business" report informed that Afghanistan, Djibouti, China, Azerbaijan and India were the "10 most improved economies" across three or more areas measured.

The report said Afghanistan had climbed over 10 places to rank No-1 in 10 economies improving the most. This means two major South Asian nations dominated the list.

The standard for ease of doing business includes starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.

Apart from Afghanistan, the others in the list included Djibouti at No-2, China at No-3, Azerbaijan at No-4, India at No-5, Togo ranked No-6, Kenya on No-7, Côte d'Ivoire in Africa at No-8, Turkey at No-9 and Rwanda at No-10.

Together, these economies implemented a total of 62 business regulatory reforms across all areas measured by "Doing Business", the report noted. The top-10 countries implemented the most regulatory reforms, the World Bank report said.

Afghanistan scored on starting a business, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes and resolving insolvency to capture the top slot ahead of India and China.

Source: worldbank.org

India which finished in 77th place overall was ranked No-5 in the most improved economies list fulling six criteria - starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, getting credit, paying taxes and trading across borders.

"India also focused on streamlining business processes. Under its National Trade Facilitation Action Plan 2017-2020, India implemented several initiatives that improved the efficiency of cross-border trade, reducing border and documentary compliance time for both exports and imports," the report observed. 

China which finished No-3 behind Afghanistan and Djibouti fulfilled several scales, in fact as many as seven - starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, protecting minority investors, paying taxes and trading across borders. 

"The two economies with the largest populations, China and India, demonstrated impressive reform agendas. Both governments took a carefully designed approach to reform, aiming to improve the business regulatory environment over the course of several years," the World Bank report said.

"India also invested in port equipment, strengthened management and improved electronic document flow. By implementing the Single Window Clearance System in Delhi and the Online Building Permit Approval System in Mumbai during the second half of 2017, India also continued to streamline and centralise its construction permitting process," the report said.