New Delhi, Oct 28 (PTI) : India has moved 12 places in the Ease of Doing Business list from 142 last year to 130 this year, according to a World Bank report released on Tuesday. 

According to a top World Bank economist, India now ranks 130 out of 189 countries and it is not impossible for the country to reach the top 100 ranking if it continues with its set of planned economic reforms, including the GST bill and the reduces the bureaucratic cost of doing business.
"It is not impossible for India to be in top 100 ranking of ease of doing business report next year if it continues with its set of planned economic reforms, including the crucial GST and cuts down on the bureaucratic cost of doing business, a top World Bank economist said.

"If the changes that we saw thus far can be kept up and strengthened a little, it is not impossible for India to be in top 100 (ranking of the ease of doing business report) by next year," World Bank Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, Kaushik Basu said.
According to Basu, who served as the top economic advisor during the Manmohan Singh regime, this is a 'remarkable achievement'. Unlike other countries, where it takes at least 3 years for a major reformation to take place, India has acquired a reasonably substantial movement in the first year itself.
However, he says that there is still a long way to go. "There is a lot of serious interest in India to cut down bureaucratic costs of doing business for small and medium-sized firms. It is important however to recognise that this is just a start. There is still a long way to go," he said.
There is a need to reduce transaction costs and the bureaucratic hurdles it places on individuals and small firms. Also, India requires to build a better network of infrastructure. "There has already been improvement in infrastructural investment. But the momentum needs to be kept up," Kaushik said.
Lastly, India needs to have policies that will include all groups. This entails health and educational interventions for the disadvantaged.
"Inclusiveness goes beyond economics, but, done well, it can yield rich dividends for the economy," he said. Going back to economic reforms, Basu said there are a couple of big ticket items on the agenda. He described the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as the biggest one.
"If, India can move so that by next year, after the budget, you have a GST in place, that can make a very big difference. It will not be a perfect GST to start with but it should be possible to make amendments and improve it over time," he said.
"Once the GST is in place, India can very easily have a rule that there will be no check posts on the way. All charges will be paid at the source or at the destination," Basu added indicating implementation of GST would help considerable improvement in ease of doing business ranking.