India is ranked 77 among 190 economies in the ease of doing business, according to the latest World Bank annual ratings. The rank of India improved to 77 in 2018 from 100 in 2017. Ease of Doing Business in India averaged 124.82 from 2008 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 139 in 2010 and a record low of 77 in 2018.

Ease of doing business in India is one of the important initiatives that is run by government and is very much crucial to the success of various initiatives like Make In India, Start-up India, Digital India and many more.

Ease of doing business in India is one of the important initiatives that is run by government and is very much crucial to the success of various initiatives like Make In India, Start-up India, Digital India and many more. In the current global scenario, where the capital is scarce and whole world is competing to attract the same capital, it is important to make our country an investor-friendly destination. The shortcomings on the methodology and scope of the ease of doing business in India should be acknowledged in terms of common perception and has to be accepted. The top five countries this year are New Zealand, Singapore, Denmark, South Korea and Hong Kong. Finance Minister himself conceded while announcing India’s ranking as the results of the exercise are currently amenable to being systematically worked on.

Ministry Aiding the Entrepreneur

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has improved the ease of doing business in India and is on a roll and getting good results. The ministry attributes this to simplified procedures and reduction in time and fees, through the successful implementation of e-governance initiatives such as the MCA21 portal and SPICe forms (Simplified Proforma for Incorporating Company Electronically ).The ministry of corporate affairs has taken a bold initiative on Government Process Re-engineering (GPR) and (SPICe) e-Form, on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti in 2016. 

SPICe is a more versatile form than INC-29 and leverages on digital technology by eliminating the need for hard copies of physically signed documents being attached to an e-form. SPICe is now the Sole, Simplified & Versatile form available for incorporation of a company in India. 

The fee for filing the incorporation form has been reduced from Rs.2000/- to Rs.500/- 

Stakeholders submit applications for PAN and TAN at the time of submitting applications for incorporation. The PAN allotted by Income Tax Department is being affixed on the Certificate of Incorporation of the company w.e.f. February 1, 2017. This has resulted in reduction in the number of processes and time taken for starting a business in the country. 

Similarly, the processing time for name availability applications has been brought down significantly from between five to six working days in June 2014, to an average of 0.4 days in March 2017. With reengineering in process and establishment of Central Registration Centre, incorporation of a company is completed in a single day. Allotment of Directors Identification Number (DIN), Permanent Account Number (PAN) and the first Tax Deduction Account Number (TAN) are subsumed in the incorporation process and,there is no separate process. 

Common seal under Companies Act, 2013 has been made optional since 29.05.2015. Accordingly, all Banks have been advised by the Indian Bank. Association (IBA) not to ask for affixation of either common seal on the application form for opening of Bank Accounts by companies. 

Deployment of common form for registration under labour related laws for EPFO and ESIC on the Shram Suvidha portal is being facilitated. Registration of Delhi Shops and Establishment Act, 1954 and Maharashtra Shops and Establishment Act, 1948 have been made fully online.