Speaking today at the eastern region workshop on "Reforming the Environment for Doing Business in Indian States" organised by the FICCI (eastern regional council) and the Union Ministry for Commerce, World Bank senior economist Stefka Slavova said the survey to rank Indian cities would cover 10 stages of a business life -- starting a business, dealing with licences, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and closing a business.
In the fifth annual report by the World Bank and IFC on the existing business environment in 178 countries, India has been ranked low, especially when it comes to ease of doing business (120 out of 178), starting a business (111), dealing with licences (134), paying taxes (165) and enforcing contracts (177).
Also, in Slavova's presentation on the city survey, slated for release by the end of the year, Kolkata as a city was ranked lower than several others in terms of infrastructure and time-consumption for various business-related procedures.
However, West Bengal principal secretary for commerce and industry Sabyasachi Sen sounded positive in his response to the World Bank report.
"The state government is ready to support this exercise. However, it needs to be pointed out that when such a large survey is carried out, it is very difficult to find common parameters. Business in Kolkata has changed. The meaning of business is different, especially in the greater Kolkata area," said Sen.