India has begun preparing for the World Bank’s new B-Ready index, which will replace the Doing Business index. The report will assess various aspects of the business environment, including trade and taxation. The commerce ministry is collecting e-commerce data to improve India’s digital trade capabilities, with the goal of reaching US$ 200-300 billion in e-commerce exports by 2030.
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India has laid the groundwork for the World Bank’s new flagship report, the Business-Ready or B-Ready index, which benchmarks the business environment and investment climate in economies worldwide. The report evaluates the regulatory framework and public services aimed at businesses, as well as the effectiveness with which they are combined in practice. B-READY provides actionable evidence to promote private sector reforms by comparing data across economies and over time.
B-Ready is replacing the World Bank’s Doing Business index, which ranked countries based on their business-friendly environment. India ranked 63rd in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report (DBR) 2020, which was published in October 2019 before the World Bank discontinued it. India’s DBR ranking rose from 142nd in 2014 to 63rd in 2019, marking a 79 ranks improvement in just five years.
As part of the exercise, the commerce and industry ministry has requested information from traders, clearing agents, and goods forwarders regarding the total time and cost involved in social trade, particularly when exporting digitally ordered goods.
The B-Ready report focusses on ten topics in the business life cycle, including business entry, labour, financial services, international trade, and taxes. The international trade topic aims to assess the efficiency of importing and exporting goods, services, customs clearance, and digital trade. Digital trade refers to transactions that facilitate access to cross-border digital markets and increase consumer participation.
“Lesser trade barriers, compliance, and transaction costs for firms are key to fully realising the benefits of international trade. We have begun preparing to ensure that we can take action on questions where we are not doing enough,” according to an official.
It is anticipated that India’s B-Ready report will be released in April 2026. The ministry has enquired as to whether any of the directly exported goods are shipped by courier or mail parcel after being ordered electronically. With India targeting US$ 200–300 billion in e-commerce exports by 2030, the information is essential. In FY23, e-commerce exports are expected to reach US$ 4-5 billion, making up 0.9-1.1% of India’s overall merchandise exports, according to a report by industry group Assocham and consulting firm EY.
Additionally, businesses have been requested to list the entire duration of time spent exporting digitally ordered goods—from the time the goods were prepared for pickup by postal or courier service until their delivery. In addition, they have been asked to evaluate the overall cost of exporting digitally ordered goods as a percentage of the total value of the exported goods as well as the average cost of handling, logistics, and compliance with border control agency requirements.
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