World Bank Group to discontinue Doing Business report
The decision was taken because there had been news on manipulation of the rankings.
Due to alleged irregularities, the World Bank Group has decided to junk its publication- Doing Business report. The ease of doing business report indicated country-wise investment and business climate. The decision was taken because there had been news on manipulation of the rankings. After a probe of data irregularities, it was alleged that in 2017 China had pushed its ranking.
The World Bank issued a statement that the management has taken the decision to discontinue the Doing Business report on behalf of the board of executive directors. It had reviewed all the information constituting findings of past reviews, audits, and the report the bank.
“Going forward, we will be working on a new approach to assessing the business and investment climate. We are deeply grateful to the efforts of the many staff members who have worked diligently to advance the business climate agenda, and we look forward to harnessing their energies and abilities in new ways,” it said.
The management has addressed allegations to appropriate internal accountability mechanisms. This is because serious questions were raised on the unethical conduct of former board officials as well as current and/or former bank staff.
Of 190 countries, India ranked 63rd in the Doing Business report in 2020. It had improved its ranking by 79 positions in the five years between 2014 and 2019.