Oct. 30: Patna is only second to New Delhi in providing a favourable environment to start a business, according to a World Bank study.
It takes only 32 days to start a business in New Delhi and an entrepreneur has to follow 11 procedures (interaction of company founders with government agencies, lawyers and auditors) to register a firm in the national capital. Patna comes second, followed by Jaipur, Hyderabad and Bhubaneswar. It is most difficult to start a business in Bangalore, where a firm has to follow 13 procedures and it takes 40 days to register it.
The city-wise details are part of a 216-page report by World Bank and International Finance Corporation on conducting business in India. But it ranked India at 134 among 189 economies in terms of its business friendliness, three spots below its previous rank of 131. Singapore continues to occupy the top spot.
Reacting to the World Bank report, P.K. Agarwal, the president of Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said: “Several factors have contributed in providing Patna the second rank. First, it has a huge population so labour is cheap. Also, the law and order condition has improved over the past few years. Finally, purchasing capacity of Patna residents has also increased.”
But not everyone agreed with Agarwal. Another businessman said: “It is unfortunate that India has dropped from 131 to 134. Also, it may be easy to start a business in Patna but conducting it is difficult because of red-tape in getting licences and other permits.”
The rankings are based on various parameters, including steps to be followed for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.
India’s business environment has come for criticism on various issues, including the case of industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla. After an FIR was filed by the CBI against Birla in a case related to coal block allocation, several industrial leaders and some ministers spoke about the need to improve business sentiment and investor confidence.
