India Reforms Scorecard 2.0 (2019-24)

On September 20, 2019 Parliament passed the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2019, reducing the effective corporate tax rate to 25.17% for domestic companies.

For FY 2019-2020, the Reserve Bank of India set the limit on foreign institutional investment in government bonds to 6 percent, far lower than its emerging market counterparts

On January 27, 2022, 100 percent shares of Air India and AIXL, and 50 percent shares of AISATS were transferred from the Indian government to Talace Private Limited.

The Reserve Bank of India (Prudential Framework for Resolution of Stressed Assets) Directions 2019, gives Indian banks the discretion to refer defaulters to NCLT on a case by case basis.

On August 5, 2019, the President signed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Act, 2019, and increased the resolution deadline for NCLT cases to 330 days. The Central Government added five more benches between July 2018 and March 2019.

Nearly 26 percent of judgeships in India's subordinate courts remain vacant, while 36 percent of judgeships in India's high courts are vacant.

India's FDI data currently shows only the last point of departure for FDI (usually Mauritius or Singapore), and the city foreign investment applications are filed in (Delhi or Mumbai).

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs notified the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Rules 2019, allowing an interim framework for Financial Service Providers (excluding banks), to file for insolvency proceedings on a case by case basis, as notified by the Central Government

State-level tariff-setting bodies have been unable to balance political interests and consumer requirements to deliver reasonably-priced power.

The Major Port Authorities Bill was passed in the 2021 budget session of the parliament and became an act after receiving the president's assent on 17 February, 2021.

The Indian Parliament passed the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 in the 2021 monsoon session. Subsequently, the Ministry of Finance notified the Income-tax (31st Amendment) Rules, 2021, ending retrospective taxation of cross-border investments.

The Reserve Bank of India currently forces bank to allocate 40% of their credit to priority sectors

Foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail is subject to minimum investment size, sourcing rules and location limitations

The Fair Compensation in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act, 2013 requires that states obtain approval from at least 80% of residents before buying land, making it difficult to find plots for industry and infrastructure

Regulations in India are implemented without a 30-day notice and comment period, and released without a cost-benefit analysis, which make the operating environment difficult for businesses

The government maintains a price cap on public distribution system kerosene, and provides subsidies to compensate for the fixed price, thereby maintaining controls over kerosene pricing

While the government has taken steps to introduce profit-sharing in natural gas production, the government has still implemented price ceilings on natural gas, maintaining control of pricing

On March 25, 2021, The Insurance (Amendment) Act, 2021 was notified allowing up to 74 percent foreign investment into the insurance sector under the automatic route.

Foreign direct investment in direct business-to-consumer retail e-commerce is not allowed unless items are all being sold under a single brand, meet local-content requirements, and the inventory is not owned or controlled by the foreign company For a detailed analysis, click here

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade's Press Note 4 (2020 series) allows FDI up to 74 percent under the automatic route

The current rate structure of four rates, plus a separate tax rate for gold and a 0 percent rate, is overly complicated and should be simplified

While nearly 1300 goods and 500 services are covered by the GST, electricity, oil and gas, real estate, and alcohol are not currently in the ambit of the tax

The government continues a piecemeal approach to privatization of CPSEs with no long-term deadline on completion

The government continues to hold a majority stake in public sector banks

The long-standing 10% limit on single institutional investors hinders investment in high-growth Indian companies

The government takes no steps to institute the Rail Development Authority despite cabinet approval

The government announced the launch of the Integrated Case Management Information System to digitize India's courts, but has so far been implemented only in the Supreme Court

According to the World Bank's Ease of Doing Busines Report 2019, it takes 17 days to start a business in India, more than the average of 13.7 days in South Asia

As per a review of the National Single Window System on December 5, 2022, the National Single Window System (NSWS), created by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), has onboarded 27 Central Departments and 19 states. Remaining 8 Ministries are expected to onboard by December 31, 2022, and the balance states/UTs by March 31, 2023.

The parliament on September 23, 2020 passed the Industrial Relations Code, 2019 giving firms with upto 300 employees flexibility in hiring and firing.