India world’s most over-regulated economy: survey

India has topped a list of the most "over-regulated countries in the world" in a survey on Asian business and politics by Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd (PERC).

The survey used responses from American executives about regulatory conditions in the United States to provide a benchmark against which to assess the Asian scores.

India was rated worst in terms of over-regulation, scoring 9.16 points out of 10, followed by China with 9.04 points, Japan in third position with 3.28 points and the US at fourth with 1.51 points.

Hong Kong received the best score in the survey of 0.98 point, while Singapore was second with 1.08 points, according to the survey done in the last quarter of 2010, based on responses from 1,370 executives.

In general, regulations were complex and non-transparent, while standards and certification procedures were onerous in India, according to the PERC survey findings.

Foreign exchange, capital transactions and some credit operations were subject to approvals, restrictions and additional requirements that went far beyond what most other countries require, said the survey. Even procedures for something as simple as getting a tourist visa were more cumbersome in India than was typical elsewhere, it pointed out.