Webinar: UKIBC’s 6th Annual Doing Business in India Report
On 29 October 2020, the UK India Business Council's (UKIBC) 6th Annual Doing Business in India Report was launched by the UK Minister for Investment, Lord Grimstone of Boscobel Kt, at an exclusive roundtable, which was followed by a webinar hosted by Group CEO Jayant Krishna.
Jayant Krishna was joined by Shailendra Singh, IAS, Additional Secretary, Government of India’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Nandita Sahgal Tully, Managing Director at Thomas Lloyd Group Ltd, and Louise Donaghey, Senior Vice President of India and South East Asia at Rolls-Royce Plc, on a panel moderated by CNBC TV-18 journalist, Parikshit Luthra.
Jayant Krishna began the session by presenting key findings from this year’s report. A few of which included:
- Most important pull factors for UK companies doing business in India
- Best and worst rated components of Indian business environment
- Top barriers to doing business India
- Top legal and regulatory impediments
- Most important reforms sought after by UK companies
- Reasons behind choice of states for investment
- States with maximum incremental improvement
- Impact of Brexit, Covid19 and Self-Reliant India mission on UK businesses in India
The panel discussion followed with further elaboration of many of these points, with panellists sharing their insights and experiences from their respective companies and industry sectors.
As evident in the report, business with India has improved and continues to do so, with 66% of survey respondents saying it is easier to do business in India. One attribute of this improvement is the Government of India’s use of technology for online sanctions and approvals. The panel further examined investment challenges. It was emphasised that businesses do expect certainty in regulation when investing in a country, and Mr Singh assured the panel of the steps taken by DPIIT to help the ease of investment that would lead to substantive increase in FDI from countries like the UK into India.
It was agreed that there is great momentum in the UK-India bilateral relationship. The group discussed post-Brexit opportunities and the steps to make India more attractive in the world presently affected by the COVID-19. Manufacturing potential in India was also addressed, with Mr Singh adding there are 24-28 sectors where manufacturing can be pro-actively promoted.
Mr Singh stated the Government of India has a roadmap to become a top 10 ease of doing business nation. The UKIBC will continue to support the Government, and indeed our members and clients, towards bettering the business environment.
Many thanks to our expert panel for providing valuable insights for this webinar. We invite you to watch the webinar below for the discussion in full.
