India rises from 82nd to 57th in global rankings, in structural and pro-competitive reforms: Report by Competere Foundation
India advanced 25 places, from 82nd to 57th, in a global ranking measuring structural and pro-competitive reforms undertaken between 2010 and 2023.
The ranking is based on the report "India's Next Growth Frontier: Reducing Anti-Competitive Market Distortions to Build on India's 2010-2023 Reform Progress," released by the Competere Foundation.
The report attributes India's improvement to sustained efforts at reducing anti-competitive market distortions and structural reforms undertaken over the period, including tax, insolvency, and regulatory changes.
The report was released at an event organised by the Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), in collaboration with the Competere Foundation.
Market Distortions and India's Competition Policy Framework
An "anti-competitive market distortion" refers to structural or regulatory barriers — restrictive licensing, entry barriers, price controls, or state monopolies — that impede fair competition and efficient resource allocation. India's institutional response to such distortions centres on the Competition Act, 2002, which replaced the older Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Act, 1969.
Key Details
- The Competition Act, 2002 came into force on 31 March 2003 and established the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to prevent practices with an adverse effect on competition, promote and sustain competition, protect consumer interests, and ensure freedom of trade.
- The CCI regulates three broad areas: anti-competitive agreements (Section 3), abuse of dominant position (Section 4), and combinations/mergers (Sections 5-6).
- The shift from the MRTP Act's "size-based" regulation (which restricted large firms regardless of conduct) to the Competition Act's "conduct-based" regulation (which penalises anti-competitive behaviour, not size) is itself a landmark structural reform reflecting India's move toward a more competition-friendly regulatory philosophy.
The Competere Foundation's index measures precisely this kind of reduction in state-created and regulatory market distortions — the CCI's conduct-based enforcement framework is one of the institutional pillars underpinning India's improved ranking.
Key Structural Reforms Cited (GST and IBC) Behind the Ranking Improvement
The report attributes India's 2010-2023 reform progress substantially to two landmark structural reforms: the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016 — both of which reduced regulatory fragmentation and improved market efficiency.
Key Details
- GST was introduced via the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016, which empowered both Parliament and State Legislatures to concurrently levy tax on the supply of goods and services, replacing a patchwork of central excise, state VAT, and other indirect taxes; it created the GST Council (Article 279A) as the joint federal decision-making body.
- The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 consolidated multiple insolvency laws into a single time-bound (180-day, extendable) resolution process, established the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) as regulator, and shifted control of a defaulting company from existing promoters to a resolution professional/creditors during the resolution process — improving the "ease of exit" for failed businesses, a key input into competitiveness indices.
- Both reforms reduced compliance costs and market fragmentation, which the report identifies as core to why India's distortion levels fell over the 2010-2023 study window.
GST (2017) and IBC (2016) both fall within the report's 2010-2023 study period and are the kind of nationwide structural reforms — reducing tax cascading and enabling exit of unviable firms — that a market-distortion index would register as improving competitiveness.
Comparison with Other Global Competitiveness/Business Climate Indices
India's climb in the Competere Foundation's index should be read alongside — but distinguished from — other global rankings that assess related but distinct dimensions of the business environment, since UPSC frequently tests which index measures what.
Key Details
- The World Bank's Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) Index, which ranked India 63rd in its final 2020 edition (Doing Business 2020 report), was discontinued in September 2021 following data-integrity concerns; it measured regulatory procedures for starting and operating a business, not market distortion/competition specifically.
- The World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index (last published 2019) assessed broader macro-competitiveness pillars (institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic stability, market size, innovation).
- The Competere Foundation's Market Distortions Performance Index is narrower in scope, focusing specifically on state-created and regulatory distortions to market competition rather than the full ease-of-business or macro-competitiveness picture.
Students should note that India's 57th rank here is on a specialised competition/market-distortion index, not a revival of the discontinued EoDB ranking — a distinction UPSC prelims-style questions often test by naming the wrong index for a given rank.
- India's rank improved from 82nd to 57th (a rise of 25 places) in the Competere Foundation's Market Distortions Performance Index.
- Study period covered: 2010-2023.
- Report title: "India's Next Growth Frontier: Reducing Anti-Competitive Market Distortions to Build on India's 2010-2023 Reform Progress."
- Competition Act, 2002: in force from 31 March 2003; established the Competition Commission of India, replacing the MRTP Act, 1969.
- GST: introduced via the 101st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2016; rolled out July 2017.
- Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code: enacted 2016; established IBBI as insolvency regulator.
- World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index: India ranked 63rd in its final (2020) edition before the index was discontinued in September 2021.