World Bank discontinues Doing Business rankings

Subject – Economy

Context – WB clears India, blamesChina for pressuring

Concept –

AWorld Bankinternal audit report did not find any irregularities in the data used by India in the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ index, but found that China used its clout to pressure the top management into reversing its dip in ranking.
The World Bank said it ended the publication of its ‘Doing Business’ report on the country wise investment climate after a board ordered investigation conducted by law firm WilmerHale cited undue pressure by top bank officials to boost China’s ranking in 2017.
After reviewing all information available to date on ‘Doing Business’, including past reviews, audits, and the report the Bank released today on behalf of the Board of Executive Directors, the World Bank Group management has decided to discontinue the ‘Doing Business’ report, a World Bank statement said.

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India’s performance –

India had successfully improved its position from 142 in 2014 to63 in 2020. The fact that the World Bank audit has not found any irregularities with India’s ranking reflects positively on its rapid improvement as an investment destination.
India remains the preferred investment destination for the world and a reliable, trustworthy partner while China has slipped in attractiveness. Fraud by China will boost multilateral initiatives like supply-chain resilience to move manufacturing to India.