Overview:
According to the latest edition of the U.K. India Business Council’s Ease of Doing Business report, the perception among U.K. businesses that corruption is a major barrier in doing business in India has halved compared with what it was in 2015.
Key observations from the report:
- There has been a considerable year-on-year fall in the number of companies that viewed ‘corruption’ as a major barrier – from 34% in 2016 to 25% in 2017. It has halved since 2015, where it stood at 51%.
- This decline shows a major improvement, indicating that the current government’s efforts to mitigate corruption appear to be delivering tangible and much-desired results.
- Corruption is no longer considered a ‘top-three’ barrier compared to those not currently active in India.
What made such steadfast progress?
- The report noted that initiative such as Aadhaar, electronic submission of government documents, acceptance of electronic signatures, and the push to file taxes online. This all have reduced face-to-face interactions where corruption is most likely to take place.
- The extent of digitalization, however, varies markedly across sectors, as does corruption, with those engaging in infrastructure projects still reporting significant issues relating to corruption.
Existing issues:
- Taxation issues and Price Points overtook ‘corruption’ as major barriers identified by 36% and 29% of respondents, respectively. The proportion of respondents identifying ‘taxation issues’ was 3% lower in 2018 than 2017.
- The key issue for those outside India is increasingly market demand for their products and services relative to government and bureaucracy-related barriers.
Sources: the hindu.
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