Ease of Doing Digital Business [EoDDB]

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Background and Context
In November 2019, the Fletcher School at Tufts University released its Ease of Doing Digital Business 2019 Rankings, placing India at 38th position among 42 countries covered. The difficulty faced by domestic and foreign digital businesses in navigating difficult policy environment, and frequent regulatory changes, were cited as key reasons for the ranking. However, since the last several years, the Government of India has been making impressive efforts to foster Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) and Ease of Living in India. While, its efforts have been recognised by the World Bank in its EoDB rankings (now discontinued; as on 16.09.2021), as India moved up from 142nd position in 2014 to 63rd position in 2019.

Incidentally, the EoDB rankings did not feature digital businesses and the factors impacting them. Moreover, as the digital businesses are growing in India, the regulatory framework for them appears to be becoming increasingly complex and complicated. The existing and proposed regulatory framework has burdening compliance requirements such as criminalising provisions for digital businesses, inadequate physical and digital infrastructure, restrictions on cross-border data flows including mandatory data localisation, etc.

With the growth and penetration of the internet, the regulatory framework for digital businesses also needs to evolve engaging cost-benefit and risk analysis, so that innovation and investment in digital businesses are not stifled.

In this context, CUTS study intends to examine the factors that facilitate the ease or unease of doing digital business in India in existing and proposed legislations and their impact on them, including the indicators of economic growth such as innovation, investment, etc.