US Says India Has Improved Ease of Doing Business Index, But Challenges on Market Access Remain

“On this front, India has the potential to become a global supply chain leader in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond,” Semsar said. Stating that supply chains are not easily mobile and market research and investments take a very long time, he recommended that India take a long term approach to attracting business. Semsar urged India to avoid the bait and switch tactic of attracting companies by implementing good policies only to later change course by adopting regulations that are inhibiting and costly to business.

“Being overly bureaucratic with firms that operate globally and know the intricacies of running a business in different countries will immediately reduce a country’s chance of attracting and retaining investment.”

Companies are extremely sensitive to regulatory oversight and bureaucratic controls, he said, adding that they compare notes between countries and they are able to add up the cost down to the penny. The time involved in dealing with burdensome government controls is an important cost that is very easily tracked, he added. When it comes to supply chains, the industry recognises three things: diversification, resilience and reliability. Supply chain needs to be diversified, infrastructure needs to be resilient and reliable and policies in the business environment also need to be reliable, he said.

“Also, foreign investors look for the ability to have majority ownership and control and their business ventures to help strategically manage and deploy resources. US companies are extremely alert to market opportunities, no matter where they exist in the world. However, in our minds, India to a certain degree can make strides and levelling the playing field by abandoning discriminatory policies, enhancing transparency and predictability and its policies and lowering the cost of doing business,” he said.