"The Government has taken steps for Ease of Doing Business, which are showing results. Some states have embraced it better than others," noted Abhishek Somany, Managing Director, Somany Ceramics Ltd. There have been many policy-related reforms that the goverment has undertaken. "A host of policy reforms and initiatives such as sales-tax revamp, upgrading infrastructure, raising foreign-investment limits and digitising approvals and registrations, reflect some of the progress India has made recently in improving the business environment. The fact that the government will be launching an awareness campaign for better ease of doing business ranking and to attract investment in 25 sectors selected under Make in India further showcases the government's priority to make it easier to do business in India," added Jayaraman.

These efforts are gradually showing results. Elaborating the point with an example, Cooper mentioned, "Ease of doing business has been definitely improved in the last couple of years. However, there are still few issues concerning the industry, like facing challenges while obtaining electrical inspector permit in various states. Although this requirement has been withdrawn by the Government of Maharashtra, there is still a need for this policy to be applied pan India basis."

Agreeing to this sentiment, Jayaraman added, "Going forward, cooperative federalism should be the key driver. A greater focus should be on collaborations with all stakeholders - states, supreme courts and high courts. States that are high up on the rankings should be encouraged to come together to share their best practices and learnings. Also, infrastructure development and connectivity improvement should continue to remain the focus of the government." Adding further he continued, "Although we have not set up a plant recently, the fact that you are now able to start a business in India in six days, compared to the initial 26 days speaks for itself about government's focus on simplifying processes and increasing ease of doing business in India."

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