Ease of Doing Business Index

The Ease of Doing Business Index was an annual benchmark published by the World Bank that assessed the regulatory environment for domestic enterprises across global economies using specific operational indicators.

• It drove significant administrative and legislative reforms in India, particularly around tax administration, insolvency frameworks, and single-window clearance systems.
• The index fostered competitive sub-national governance in India through the implementation of the Business Reform Action Plan across states.
• Analyzing its methodology highlights persistent structural bottlenecks in the business landscape, notably judicial delays in contract enforcement and complex property registration processes.

UPSC frames questions around the gap between formal regulatory improvements measured by global indices and the actual ground-level experience of enterprises in India. Examiners often test candidates on how sub-national business rankings promote competitive federalism or require critical evaluation of the index's methodology following its replacement by the World Bank's Business Ready framework. Answers are expected to connect regulatory streamlining to broader themes in GS Paper III, such as manufacturing growth, investment climate, and economic governance.

• Liberalization GS3

• Corruption Perceptions Index
• Economic Survey
• Environmental Performance Index
• Global Competitiveness Report
• Global Gender Gap Report
• Global Hunger Index
• Global Innovation Index
• Human Development Report
• SDG India Index
• World Happiness Report