While the BJP government has made dramatic progress in improving India’s Ease of Doing Business ranking, the World Bank has thrown a new challenge for the government.
While the BJP government has made dramatic progress in improving India’s Ease of Doing Business ranking, the World Bank has thrown a new challenge for the government by adding another criterion to the ranking. From the next ranking onwards, the World Bank will include procurement as one of the criteria for rating countries Ease of Doing Business. “Procurement is a key indicator of the efficiency of a government,” Junaid Kamal Ahmad, World Bank’s Country Head for India, said at an event on Monday. He also lauded India’s efforts and for its rapid rise in the ease of doing business rankings in the last few years. While the governments all across the world look to improve their ease of doing business rankings as the same is also a measure to check a country’s attractiveness to foreign companies, “building the state’s capability for efficient procurement was a key objective of World Bank”, Junaid Kamal Ahmad added.
You might also be interested to read: Five New Smart Cities To Be Investment Hubs
Under the BJP government’s rule, India has made a massive leap in its ranking from 140 spots in 2014 to 63rd position in the last rankings. According to data released by the Expenditure Secretary of the Finance Ministry, government procurement amounts to 20% of India’s GDP and “procurement is a strategic tool for achieving fiscal, economic and social objectives”. TV Somnathan, Secretary, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance also said that efficient procurement is a prerequisite for timely execution of public projects, he said at the event.
Source: Financial Express
