New Delhi, Nov 5 (KNN) A big jump in India's ranking in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index to 77 from 100, resulting from, among other factors, a marked improvement in key port infrastructure helping the external trade would go a long way in improving the country's image in the global market, as an easy and dependable place to commercially engage in, said Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) India.

Happy with the improvement in ease of doing business index on the specific parameter of ‘Trading Across Boarders’, EEPC India Chairman Ravi Sehgal said, "Our ranking has jumped by 66 places from 146 to 80. That is big positive for our external trade and would help us in reducing costs on various counts, including the compliance costs at the ports and airports".

On ‘Trading Across Borders’, the World Bank report stated, "India reduced import border compliance time in Mumbai by improving infrastructure at the Nhava Sheva Port. Export and import border compliance cost were also reduced in both Delhi and Mumbai by eliminating merchant overtime fees and through the increased use of electronic and mobile platforms''.

India's engineering exports, along with the rest of the export basket, may have declined in September, 2018 due to higher base effect , the  focus on cutting compliance cost for trading across borders should help exporters catch up in the subsequent months of current fiscal and the next financial year, EEPC India pointed.

Further it said there has been up-gradation of the port infrastructure including streamlining of the procedures, digitization of documents; resulting in handling time for cargo.

Under the Border Compliance Criterion the cost to export has come down from USD 382.4 to USD 251.6. Similarly, the cost to import has come down from USD 543.2 to USD 331. Over 92 per cent of India's export –import trade volume is carried out by sea and handled at ports, it added.

The renewed focus on the Small and Medium Enterprises and helping them by way of interest subvention, as announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, would improve the competitiveness of Indian exporters, said EEPC.

Appreciating the decision to sanction loans for SMEs in less than an hour, using the GST data analytics is a brilliant move, EEPC said "This amply proves how digitization and data analytics can help bring in transparency, efficiency and improve credit worthiness of entrepreneurs".