India climbs 25 places in global competitiveness ranking as reforms reduce market distortions
A report assessing anti-competitive market distortions across economies placed India 25 places higher than its earlier position, moving it from 82nd to 57th in the global ranking
The improvement is attributed to structural, pro-competitive reforms carried out between 2010 and 2023
Reforms cited include the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), improvements in the regulatory and business environment, and modernisation of trade facilitation systems
The assessment evaluates countries across three pillars: protection of property rights, domestic competition, and international competition
Anti-Competitive Market Distortions and Competitiveness Indices
Anti-Competitive Market Distortion (ACMD) is a framework used to assess the extent to which government policy or government-private collusion interferes with markets, distorting price signals, competition, and resource allocation. Global rankings built on such frameworks are used by investors and policymakers as a proxy for the ease of doing business and the quality of an economy's regulatory environment.
Key Details
- The ranking discussed here comes from a report by the Competere Foundation, evaluating market distortions across three pillars: protection of property rights, domestic competition, and international competition
- It sits alongside other well-known international assessments of business environment and competitiveness, such as the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index and the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking
- The World Bank's "Ease of Doing Business" report, which India used to track closely (jumping from rank 142 in 2014 to 63 in 2019), was discontinued in September 2021 after an internal review found data irregularities; it was replaced by a new "Business Ready" (B-READY) report from 2024
- India does not currently feature prominently in early B-READY assessments in the way it did in the old Doing Business rankings, making alternative indices like the one in this report a relevant reference point for tracking reform progress
With the Ease of Doing Business report discontinued, third-party competitiveness assessments such as this market-distortions index have become one of the few internationally comparable benchmarks tracking whether India's structural reforms are translating into a more competitive, less distorted market environment.
Goods and Services Tax (GST)
GST is a comprehensive, destination-based indirect tax levied on the supply of goods and services, which replaced a fragmented structure of central and state indirect taxes (excise duty, service tax, VAT, and others) with a single tax regime.
Key Details
- Introduced through the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016, which inserted Article 246A giving Parliament and state legislatures concurrent power to legislate on GST
- Came into effect on 1 July 2017
- Administered through a dual structure — Central GST (CGST) and State GST (SGST) for intra-state supplies, and Integrated GST (IGST) for inter-state supplies — with rates recommended by the GST Council under Article 279A
- Aimed at eliminating the cascading "tax on tax" effect, unifying the national market, and improving ease of doing business by replacing multiple state-level tax filings with a single indirect tax system
GST is cited as a key structural reform behind India's improved ranking because it reduced regulatory fragmentation across states, a factor directly assessed under the "domestic competition" pillar of such indices.
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016
The IBC is India's unified insolvency-resolution law, consolidating what were previously multiple, overlapping laws governing corporate and individual insolvency into a single, time-bound framework.
Key Details
- Received presidential assent on 28 May 2016; provisions applying IBC to companies and LLPs were notified and brought into force from December 2016
- Established the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) as the regulator, along with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) as the adjudicating authority for corporate insolvency
- Introduced a strict resolution timeline (originally 180 days, extendable to 330 days including litigation) to resolve corporate insolvency, replacing the earlier, much slower regime under laws such as the Sick Industrial Companies Act
- Shifted control of a defaulting company from existing promoters ("debtor-in-possession") to creditors and a resolution professional ("creditor-in-control") during the insolvency process
The IBC is highlighted as a structural reform improving the "protection of property rights" pillar, since a credible, time-bound insolvency framework strengthens creditor rights and reduces the risk premium investors attach to doing business in India.
- India's rank improvement: from 82nd to 57th (up 25 places), reflecting reform progress across 2010-2023
- Assessing body: Competere Foundation; index evaluates property rights protection, domestic competition, and international competition
- GST: in effect since 1 July 2017, enabled via the 101st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2016 (Article 246A)
- IBC: presidential assent 28 May 2016; corporate insolvency provisions in force from December 2016; regulator is IBBI, adjudicating authority is NCLT
- World Bank's Ease of Doing Business report (in which India ranked 63rd in 2019, up from 142nd in 2014) was discontinued in September 2021 and replaced by the B-READY report from 2024