News: 'India ranks higher than China in business competitiveness'

(UNI 15/12/2006) New Delhi - India ranks much higher in business competitiveness than China in a list prepared by the World Economic Forum besides other countries in the Asian region with regard to various other variables, the Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, told the Lok Sabha. However, he said that they should not be "much enthusiastic" about such reports, as ''some of them are quite reverse putting India in bad light''. In this context, Chidambaram, replying to a query during Question Hour told a member not to take note of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) report that had placed India at 134th position among 175 countries as regard to various parameters of business environment. "The Government rejects this report," the Finance Minister said adding that such studies rarely affected the inflow of FDI in the country. Referring to the time taken to start a business in India, the Minister said that according a global study, ''while obtaining all relevant clearances takes 16.6 days for a project in developed OECD countries, this exercise needed around 32.5 days in countries of Asian region and nearly 35 days in India''. However, he said that attempts were being made by the government to improve the time-period for clearance from 35 days to 30 or even lesser in the near future. Chidambaram dismissed the demands for 'single window' clearance for the projects. ''The single-window clearance is a myth we are promoting unconsiously... for a project, clearance has to be taken from local municipal authorities, environment, power and other related bodies,'' he said, stressing that the time span for each clearance had to be reduced and made hassle-free.