Overview

Doing Business in India 2009 compares business regulations across 17 Indian cities. The report focuses on local regulations that affect 7 stages in the life of a small or medium-size domestic enterprise:  starting a business, dealing with construction permits, registering property, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and closing a business.

Doing Business in India 2009, the first subnational report fully dedicated to India, found that differences in city- and state-level regulations as well as the implementation of national-level regulations can enhance or constrain local business activity. A number of Indian cities were previously benchmarked by the Doing Business in South Asia 2007 report.

Main Findings

• In Doing Business in India 2009, 14 out of the 17 cities covered in the Doing Business in South Asia 2007 report introduced local reforms in at least one of the areas measured.
• Reforms produced tangible results, such as reducing the average time to open a business from 54 to 35 days in 10 cities.
• The time to obtain a building permit was reduced by 25 days on average.
• Doing business was easier in Ludhiana, Hyderabad, and Bhubaneshwar. It was more difficult to start and operate a business in Kochi and Kolkata.