India Targets Top Business Rank with 2026 World Bank B-READY Assessment

According to a release from the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, India improved by 79 ranks in the World Bank's Doing Business Report (DBR) over a five-year period, reaching 63rd position in the 2019 ranking.

Following the discontinuation of the DBR in 2020, the World Bank introduced the B-Ready Assessment in 2024 to evaluate more than 180 countries across ten topics spanning the business lifecycle. India was scheduled to participate in the third B-Ready Report due for release in 2026.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today, Minister of State for the Ministry of Commerce & Industry Jitin Prasada stated that the government remained determined to build an investment-friendly ecosystem. The release noted that the "intent of the Government is clear--to create a favourable and enabling environment for enterprises, thereby strengthening India's position as an attractive investment destination."

To facilitate this, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) launched the Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) in 2014, which focused on streamlining regulations and implementing digital solutions to improve the domestic business environment.

The government completed seven editions of BRAP since its inception, and the seventh edition for 2024 is still in progress. More than 9,700 reforms were implemented across various States and Union Territories under this initiative.

These reforms included "establishing single window systems, simplifying building permissions, enhancing inspection procedures, and digitising various business processes."

The ministry reported that these measures significantly reduced both turnaround time and costs for setting up and operating businesses nationwide.

Under the Regulatory Compliance Burden (RCB) initiative launched in 2020, the government reduced the number of compliance items by over 47,000 over the past five years.

Data from the ministry indicated that "16,109 compliances were simplified, 22,287 compliances were digitised, 4,623 compliances were decriminalised, and 4,270 compliances were eliminated by removal of redundant and duplicative requirements."

Additionally, the RCB+ initiative addressed 4,846 of 6,262 identified compliance issues across 23 Acts commonly implemented by States and Union Territories to address inter-state regulatory duplication.

Legislative efforts to foster ease of doing business included the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, which decriminalised 183 provisions under 42 Acts administered by 19 Ministries. This was followed by the Jan Vishwas Bill, 2025, which received Union Cabinet approval on August 12, 2025, and was laid before the Lok Sabha on August 18, 2025.

This bill, which remained under examination by a Select Committee, proposed to amend 355 provisions. This included the decriminalisation of 288 provisions to foster ease of doing business and 67 provisions to facilitate ease of living.

The DPIIT also operationalised the National Single Window System (NSWS) to facilitate clearances and approvals. Currently, 32 Central Ministries and 33 States and Union Territories are integrated with the system, offering access to over 300 Central and 3,000 State-level approvals.

The Minister noted that this initiative aimed at "strengthening transparency, accountability, and efficiency in regulatory processes, thereby enhancing investor confidence."

- ANI