India needs to move from ease and cost to speed of doing business, CII president Mukundan says

2026-06-25 · 3 min

UPSC CSE Context Why in News: CII president calls for shifting focus from ease to speed of doing business. Syllabus Connection: Indian Economy: industrial policy, investment climate, MSMEs, infrastructure. Exam Relevance: Highlights reform gaps beyond Ease of Doing Business rankings; links to private investment, MSME resilience, logistics. Core Issue Need to reform speed of doing business alongside ease and cost. Key Development: CII president argues private investment is rising, contrary to government claims. Stakeholders: Private sector Static Knowledge High Value Background: Ease of Doing Business index by World Bank measures regulatory efficiency; India improved rank from 142 2014 to 63 2019. MSMEs contribute 30% to GDP and 45% to exports; their resilience is critical for supply chains. Exam Linkage: Useful for questions on investment climate, industrial reforms, and MSME policy. Concepts in Context: Speed of doing business: reducing time for approvals, land demarcation, logistics

## UPSC CSE Context **Why in News:** CII president calls for shifting focus from ease to speed of doing business. **Syllabus Connection:** Indian Economy: industrial policy, investment climate, MSMEs, infrastructure. **Exam Relevance:** Highlights reform gaps beyond Ease of Doing Business rankings; links to private investment, MSME resilience, logistics. ## Core Issue Need to reform speed of doing business alongside ease and cost. **Key Development:** CII president argues private investment is rising, contrary to government claims. **Stakeholders:** - Private sector ## Static Knowledge **High-Value Background:** - Ease of Doing Business index by World Bank measures regulatory efficiency; India improved rank from 142 (2014) to 63 (2019). - MSMEs contribute ~30% to GDP and 45% to exports; their resilience is critical for supply chains. **Exam Linkage:** - Useful for questions on investment climate, industrial reforms, and MSME policy. **Concepts in Context:** - Speed of doing business: reducing time for approvals, land demarcation, logistics handovers. - Crowding in: public investment stimulates private investment, contrary to crowding out. **Institutions and Mechanisms:** - Confederation of Indian Industry (CII): industry body advocating for business reforms. - Chief Economic Adviser: advises on economic policy; recently flagged low private investment. ## Dynamic Analysis ### Economy - Shift from ease to speed addresses implementation bottlenecks like land demarcation delays. - Private investment data (71.7% CAGR in net fixed assets) counters narrative of corporate reluctance. - Logistics handover points (boat-rail-road) cause delays; improving them can cut transit time from a week to 24 hours. - MSME resilience is linked to energy security; West Asia crisis exposed vulnerability of small suppliers. ### Governance - Reforms need to target bureaucratic friction at local levels (e.g., collector office delays). - Speed of business requires process re-engineering, not just legislative changes. - Coordination between transport ministries is essential for seamless multimodal logistics. ### International Relations - India's agricultural exports lag behind Netherlands despite larger land area; reform needed in agri-logistics. - West Asia crisis highlights need for diversified energy sources and MSME support to maintain supply chains. ## Prelims Takeaways - CII president R. Mukundan is MD & CEO of Tata Chemicals. - Net fixed assets of private companies grew at 71.7% CAGR from Sep 2020 to Sep 2025. ## Mains Value Addition **Arguments:** - Speed of doing business is as critical as ease; delays at handover points increase costs. - Private investment is rising; government should focus on removing friction rather than blaming corporates. - MSME resilience requires energy security and supply chain integration. - Agricultural exports can be boosted by improving logistics, not just production. **Examples:** - Land demarcation delays prevent firms from starting construction even after allotment. - Moving food from J&K to Mumbai can take a week due to logistics friction; target is 24 hours. **Data Points:** - Netherlands is world's second-largest agricultural exporter despite smaller land area. **Counterpoints:** - Speed reforms may increase regulatory burden if not implemented with simplification. - MSME resilience requires more than energy support; access to credit and technology also needed. ## Way Forward - Set time-bound targets for land demarcation and other pre-construction processes. - Create single-window clearance for multimodal logistics handovers. - Integrate MSMEs into larger supply chains with assured energy and raw material access. - Benchmark agricultural export logistics against countries like Netherlands to identify gaps. - Publish real-time data on private investment to align perceptions between government and industry.

Source: Economy