Gujarat No 1?: Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu question World Bank ranking, say report is based on "old data"

Maharashtra CM Fadnavis

By A Representative
The recent World Bank-prepared Government of India-sponsored report placing Gujarat as No 1 state in ease of doing business has rankled several states, considered highly industrial, such as Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Reacting sharply, while the Maharashtra government has said it would ask the Centre to recommend to World Bank to "reassess" the ranking (No 8), the Tamil Nadu government has said the report's analysis ranking the state No 12 is "purely a perception-based" and not on "factuals and efficiencies".
Taking exception to the report, Maharashtra's industries minister Subhash Desai has said, “The observations are based on old information. The government has taken a number of reforms, including amendments to the Factories Act, reduction in the number of approvals from 76 to 37, doing away with inspector raj and relaxation in River Regulatory Zone Regulations.”
Among the important investments made in the recent past, the state government has said, include Rs 31,000 crore by Foxconn, which is to set up R&D and manufacturing facility; Rs 6,400 crore by General Motors, which is to to expand its Talegaon facility following the decision to close down its Gujarat unit; Rs by 4,500 crore Blackstone-Panchshil IT park in Navi Mumbai; Rs 1,700 crore by Chrysler to manufacture its marquee brand Grand Cherokee in Pune; and so on.
The state government has further said, Maharashtra has attracted investment intentions worth Rs 60,000 crore over the last one year after the BJP came to power in the state.
“After the Bank takes into account the recent initiatives, Maharashtra will be ranked third,” he added. “Some more reforms are in the pipeline, which, once implemented, will see Maharashtra ranked at first position next year.”
Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan of the Congress party, has supported the Maharashtra government's saying, the state "is the most desirable destination for foreign investment and also for investment in industry, financial services, information technology and entertainment."
Confederation of Indian Industry’s state council chairman Arup Basu has commented, “Although Maharashtra ranked eight among all Indian states, it ranked the highest in ‘Obtaining infrastructure-related utilities’, with clearly defined time lines for electricity, water and sewage connections, and a reformed electricity connection application process and also in ‘enforcing contracts’."
Questioning the report's content, a Tamil Nadu government spokesperson said, it is surprising that "states such as Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Punjab which are more industrialised and investor-friendly, are on the bottom."
The official wondered how the report could compare states such as Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and north-eastern states with states such as Tamil Nadu, "which has higher penetration of industrialisation than the former lot", adding, "It is unfair that states without even proper roads, power, social security and a decent literacy ratio were compared with Tamil Nadu, which is much better placed in all these parameters."
The official further said, "Tamil Nadu was the first state to implement single-window clearance way back in1995-1996. No state has the record of giving clearances in 12-30 days, which Tamil Nadu has, but no mark was given to this, they pointed out."
"The report is not objective. The World Bank did not look at how effective the systems are in single-window clearances; how labour laws are how inspector raj has been reduced in Tamil Nadu. It is very unfortunate," said the official, adding, "The report was based on how business can access services without any hassle through the internet, but not on what the state has achieved in terms of infrastructure."
Pointing out that Tamil Nadu is the second largest contributor to India’s GDP with 8.4% share, the official said, the state has a 17% share in number of factories in India -- higher than any other state -- with 36,869 units. It has a 16% share in India’s industrial workforce with 16,02,447 workers and ranks 3rd in terms of cumulative FDI inflows ($16 billion from 2000 to 2014), 3rd in terms of invested capital of Rs 2,92,260.06 crore and 3rd in terms of value of total industrial output of Rs 6,19,525.33 crore."
One government which is particularly pleased with the report is West Bengal, trying hard to improve its image in the business community. Ranked at 11, higher than Tamil Nadu and Punjab, the report is being interpreted by the West Bengal government as "a reflection of the small-ticket reforms the state has been undertaking in order to attract investment."
“The state had always carried a baggage of the past. The current government in its initial days did little to change it, but now we feel there is an impetus,” an industrialist has been quoted as saying.
Land will not be a problem in West Bengal. West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) has 4,400 acres of ready land under its possession for industrial development. This is apart from the land for 6 townships in the state. Another 4,000 acres of land will be made available soon," state finance minister Amit Mitra said.

Comments

NYT: RSS 'infiltrates' institutions, 'drives' religious divide under Modi's leadership

By Jag Jivan A comprehensive New York Times investigation published on December 26, 2025, chronicles the rise of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) — characterized as a far-right Hindu nationalist organization — from a shadowy group founded in 1925 to the world's largest right-wing force, marking its centenary in 2025 with unprecedented influence and mainstream acceptance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi , who joined the RSS as a young boy and later became a full-time campaigner before being deputized to its political wing in the 1980s, delivered his strongest public tribute to the group in his August 2025 Independence Day address. Speaking from the Red Fort , he called the RSS a "giant river" with dozens of streams touching every aspect of Indian life, praising its "service, dedication, organization, and unmatched discipline." The report describes how the RSS has deeply infiltrated India's institutions — government, courts, police, media, and academia — ...

Dalit woman student’s death sparks allegations of institutional neglect in Himachal college

By A Representative A Dalit rights organisation has alleged severe caste- and gender-based institutional violence leading to the death of a 19-year-old Dalit woman student at Government Degree College, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, and has demanded arrests, resignations, and an independent inquiry into the case.

Domestic vote-bank politics 'behind official solidarity' with Bangladeshi Hindus

By Sandeep Pandey, Faisal Khan The Indian government has registered a protest with Bangladesh over the mob lynching of two Hindus—Deepu Chandra Das in Mymensingh and Amrit Mandal in Rajbari. In its communication, the government cited a report by the Association of Hindus, Buddhists and Christian Unity Council, which claims that more than 2,900 incidents of killings, arson, and land encroachments targeting minorities have taken place since the interim government assumed power in Bangladesh.

From colonial mercantilism to Hindutva: New book on the making of power in Gujarat

By Rajiv Shah Professor Ghanshyam Shah ’s latest book, “ Caste-Class Hegemony and State Power: A Study of Gujarat Politics ”, published by Routledge , is penned by one of Gujarat ’s most respected chroniclers, drawing on decades of fieldwork in the state. It seeks to dissect how caste and class factors overlap to perpetuate the hegemony of upper strata in an ostensibly democratic polity. The book probes the dominance of two main political parties in Gujarat—the Indian National Congress and the BJP—arguing that both have sustained capitalist growth while reinforcing Brahmanic hierarchies.

Gig workers’ strike halts platforms, union submits demands to Labour Ministry

By A Representative India’s gig economy witnessed an partial disruption on December 31, 2025, as a large number of delivery workers, app-based service providers, and freelancers across the country participated in a nationwide strike called by the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU). The strike, which followed days of coordinated protests, shut down major platforms including Zomato , Swiggy , Blinkit , Zepto , Flipkart , and BigBasket in several areas.

From protest to proof: Why civil society must rethink environmental resistance

By Shankar Sharma* As concerned environmentalists and informed citizens, many of us share deep unease about the way environmental governance in our country is being managed—or mismanaged. Our complaints range across sectors and regions, and most of them are legitimate. Yet a hard question confronts us: are complaints, by themselves, effective? Experience suggests they are not.

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

Search This Blog