Ludhiana, Hyderabad, Bhubaneshwar easiest for business ventures: World Bank report

The World Bank and International Finance Corporation's latest Doing Business In India 2009 report, for the  department of industrial policy and promotion  has ranked 17 Indian cities on various as beig among those most ideally suited for setting up new business ventures, based on several parametres.

The WB-IFC study was conducted in collaboration with the commerce ministry and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

According to the report the top three cities in terms of ease of setting up new ventures are Ludhiana, Hyderabad, Bhubaneshwar.

New Delhi ranked No 6 and Mumbai 10th, Kolkata ended up at the bottom of the list.

The report compared business regulations in the selected cities, focusing on ''local regulations that affect seven stages in the life of a small or mid-sized domestic enterprise - starting a business, dealing with construction permits, registering property, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and closing a business.''
 
''While all cities in India have a similar legal and institutional framework, local regulations and the implementation of national laws vary. And these variations across India in the regulatory environment and the ease of  doing business shows the potential for cities to learn from one another,'' the report said.
 
Mumbai and Noida emerged as the fastest for starting businesses. Patna was identified as the least expensive.
 
According to the report, paying taxes is th easiest in Ludhiana, Jaipur and Noida, and difficult in Chennai, Kolkata and Patna.

''The number of procedures to open a business ranges from 11 to 13, 8 of which are set nationally. Starting a business is fastest in Mumbai and Noida with 30 days and slowest in Kochi with 41 days. Business start up is least expensive in Patna at 38 per cent of income per capita, while in Mumbai, the cost is almost twice as much,'' the report said.