‘India more attractive to do biz than WB ranking’

Washington : India is a lot more attractive place for business than what the World Bank’s recent ranking suggests, top Indian-American economist Arvind Panagariya has said, noting that the 30-point jump in one year was “overdue”. Investors usually go where the environment is the best and not where the World Bank collects its data, Panagariya, professor at the prestigious Columbia University, told PTI in an interview.

“Our best investment destinations do significantly better than the latter,” said the former vice chairman of NITI Aayog. “I have often said that India as a place to do business is a lot more attractive than the World Bank ranking suggests.

This is because the bank collects its data in Delhi and Mumbai, not in the states with the best business environment such as Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat,” he said.

 Panagariya, 65, was responding to a question on the latest annual report of the World Bank on ease of doing business. India registered an impressive 30-point jump in one year, registering the best performance among emerging economies.