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

Published 2026-06-25 · Updated 2026-06-25 · 3 min · 518 words

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.

Primary/reference source: Economy