Question map
Which one of the following is not a sub-index of the World Bank's 'Ease of Doing Business Index'?
Explanation
The correct answer is option A: Maintenance of law and order.
The World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index is computed using 10 indicators based on the life cycle of a business[3], which include: Starting a business, Dealing with construction permits, Getting electricity, Registering property, Getting credit, Protecting minority investors, Paying taxes, Trading[1] across borders, and Enforcing contracts[1].
"Maintenance of law and order" is not among these 10 indicators. The report is also known as the Ease of Doing Business Report and is published annually[4] by the World Bank. It aims to provide a basis for understanding and improving the regulatory environment for businesses by analyzing and comparing business regulations and protection of property rights across 190 economies[5].
Options B (Paying taxes), C (Registering property), and D (Dealing with construction permits) are all officially listed sub-indices of the Ease of Doing Business Index, making them incorrect choices for this question.
Sources- [1] Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 12: Indian Industry > 12.24 Indian Economy > p. 398
- [2] Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 12: Indian Industry > 12.24 Indian Economy > p. 398
- [3] Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 12: Indian Industry > 12.24 Indian Economy > p. 398
- [4] Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 18: International Economic Institutions > Doing Business Report > p. 527
- [5] Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 12: Indian Industry > EASE OF DOING BUSINESS REPORT > p. 397
PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
Full viewThis is a classic 'Index Anatomy' question. It is not enough to know India's rank; you must memorize the specific parameters (sub-indices) of major reports (HDI, MPI, EoDB, GHI). If an index is in the news due to a ranking jump, UPSC asks 'what changed?', which requires knowing the components.
This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.
- Statement 1: Is "Maintenance of law and order" a sub-index of the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index?
- Statement 2: Is "Paying taxes" a sub-index of the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index?
- Statement 3: Is "Registering property" a sub-index of the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index?
- Statement 4: Is "Dealing with construction permits" a sub-index of the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index?
- Passage lists specific Ease of Doing Business components (Overall rank, Enforcement of Contracts, Trading across borders) but does not mention 'Maintenance of law and order'.
- Shows the types of indicators used by the Ease of Doing Business index (contract enforcement, trading across borders), implying the index focuses on business regulatory factors rather than a 'law and order' sub-index.
- Passage enumerates areas covered in Ease of Doing Business assessments (investor protection, cost of establishing a business, access to credit, tax system, resolving insolvency, contract enforcement) and omits any 'maintenance of law and order' item.
- This supports that Ease of Doing Business focuses on business regulations and processes rather than a general public-order sub-index.
States the Doing Business report is based on 10 quantitative indicators used to compute the Ease of Doing Business Index.
A student could check the canonical list of those 10 indicators to see whether 'maintenance of law and order' appears among them.
Provides a (partial) detailed list of the 10 indicators (e.g., Starting a business, Dealing with construction permits, Getting electricity, Registering property, Getting credit, Protecting minority investors, Paying taxes, Trading across borders, Enforcing contracts).
Comparing this enumerated list with the phrase 'maintenance of law and order' lets a student judge whether that phrase matches any listed indicator or is absent.
Defines the report's aim as analyzing and comparing business regulations and protection of property rights across economies — suggesting the index focuses on regulatory/business procedures rather than general public order metrics.
Use this scope to reason that 'maintenance of law and order' (a broad public security measure) is unlikely to be an Ease of Doing Business sub-index unless framed as a specific regulatory/business procedure.
Gives an example of another index composed of 10 clearly named sub-components, illustrating that indices typically list specific, named sub-components rather than broad phrases.
A student could apply that pattern to expect the Doing Business index's sub-components to be similarly concrete and then look for a matching concrete sub-component for 'law and order' (which is not among the ones listed in snippet 3).
- Explicitly lists 'Paying taxes' among the 10 indicators used to compute the Ease of Doing Business Index.
- Mentions the indicator in the context of ranking movement, implying it is a named sub-component of the index.
- States the Doing Business Report analyzes 10 quantitative indicators to evaluate the regulatory environment for business.
- Identifies the report as the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Report, linking the set of indicators to that index.
- Explicit list of the 10 indicators used to compute the Ease of Doing Business Index includes 'Registering property'.
- Presents 'Registering property' as one of the ranked components (ranking improved).
- Describes the Doing Business Report as based on analysis of 10 quantitative indicators used to construct the index.
- Confirms the index is built from multiple lifecycle-based indicators, supporting inclusion of specific components like registering property.
- States the Doing Business Report analyzes business regulations and protection of property rights across economies.
- Links measurement of property-rights-related regulation to the report's framework, reinforcing that property-related indicators are part of the index.
- Explicitly lists the 10 indicators used to compute the Ease of Doing Business Index and names 'Dealing with construction permits' among them.
- Presents 'Dealing with construction permits' as one of the core lifecycle indicators used in the index calculation.
- States the Doing Business Report is based on 10 quantitative indicators used to analyze regulatory environment.
- Confirms the structure of the index as a set of defined indicators, supporting that 'Dealing with construction permits' is one of those indicators.
- Identifies the Doing Business Report as a yearly World Bank Group publication, linking the index and its indicators to the World Bank.
- Supports that the listed indicators belong to the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business framework.
- [THE VERDICT]: Sitter. Verbatim match in standard Economy texts (Nitin Singhania Ch. 12/18) and every major current affairs compilation.
- [THE CONCEPTUAL TRIGGER]: International Economic Institutions & Reports. Specifically, the methodology behind India's rapid rise in the Ease of Doing Business rankings.
- [THE HORIZONTAL EXPANSION]: Memorize the 10 specific indicators: 1. Starting a Business, 2. Construction Permits, 3. Electricity, 4. Registering Property, 5. Getting Credit, 6. Protecting Minority Investors, 7. Paying Taxes, 8. Trading Across Borders, 9. Enforcing Contracts, 10. Resolving Insolvency. (Note: 'Employing Workers' was tracked but not included in the score).
- [THE STRATEGIC METACOGNITION]: Stop memorizing just the rank (e.g., 'India is 63rd'). UPSC filters non-serious candidates by asking about the *methodology*. If a report is published by WEF, WB, or UNDP, you must create a mnemonic for its pillars.
The Index is constructed from ten specific regulatory indicators that measure stages in a business's lifecycle.
High-yield for UPSC because questions often ask for components of global indices or ask candidates to interpret what such indices measure; mastering the ten indicators helps distinguish business-regulation metrics from broader governance or social indicators and supports answers on reform priorities.
- Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 18: International Economic Institutions > Doing Business Report > p. 527
- Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 12: Indian Industry > 12.24 Indian Economy > p. 398
The Doing Business (Ease of Doing Business) Report is an annual publication produced by the World Bank Group.
Important for institution-identification questions and essays on global governance; knowing which international body issues an index helps in comparing mandates of institutions and assessing the credibility and policy influence of reported rankings.
- Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 18: International Economic Institutions > Doing Business Report > p. 527
- Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 12: Indian Industry > EASE OF DOING BUSINESS REPORT > p. 397
The Index emphasizes regulatory procedures (e.g., starting a business, permits, enforcing contracts) rather than a generic 'maintenance of law and order' metric.
Useful for eliminating distractors in MCQs and for analytical answers contrasting business-climate measures with broader governance measures (public order, policing); links to topics on ease of doing business reforms, legal infrastructure, and investment climate.
- Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 12: Indian Industry > 12.24 Indian Economy > p. 398
- Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 12: Indian Industry > EASE OF DOING BUSINESS REPORT > p. 397
Paying taxes is one of the ten core indicators used to compute the Ease of Doing Business ranking.
High-yield for UPSC: knowing the index components helps answer questions on regulatory environment, reform priorities and comparative rankings. It links to tax policy, business regulation and indicators-based assessment questions; useful for policy analysis and current affairs questions on country rankings.
- Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 12: Indian Industry > 12.24 Indian Economy > p. 398
- Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 18: International Economic Institutions > Doing Business Report > p. 527
The World Bank publishes the Doing Business Report to compare business regulatory environments across economies.
Knowing the publisher and purpose is frequently tested and helps connect institutional roles (World Bank) with indicators-based global comparisons; useful for questions on international economic institutions, rankings and reform measurement since 2003.
- Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 18: International Economic Institutions > Doing Business Report > p. 527
- Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 12: Indian Industry > EASE OF DOING BUSINESS REPORT > p. 397
The ease, transparency and online availability of tax payment services affect the 'paying taxes' indicator and thus influence the business climate.
Important for UPSC because tax-administration reforms (e.g., GST, online filings) are linked to improvements in business climate and rankings; helps answer questions on domestic reforms, tax policy impacts on ease of doing business and cross-cutting governance issues.
- Macroeconomics (NCERT class XII 2025 ed.) > Chapter 5: Government Budget and the Economy > Box 5.3: GST: One Nation, One Tax, One Market > p. 83
- Indian Economy, Vivek Singh (7th ed. 2023-24) > Chapter 4: Government Budgeting > For business and industry > p. 177
The Ease of Doing Business Index is computed from ten lifecycle-based indicators; Registering property is one of these sub-indicators.
High-yield for administrative and economic policy questions: knowing the constituent indicators helps answer questions on reform priorities, comparative rankings, and policy levers. Connects to topics on business regulation, land administration, and measuring regulatory burden.
- Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 12: Indian Industry > 12.24 Indian Economy > p. 398
- Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 18: International Economic Institutions > Doing Business Report > p. 527
The World Bank DISCONTINUED the 'Doing Business' report in 2021 due to data irregularities. It has been replaced by the **'Business Ready' (B-READY)** project. The next question will likely ask about the 3 pillars of B-READY: (1) Regulatory Framework, (2) Public Services, and (3) Operational Efficiency.
Look at the nature of the options. Options B, C, and D (Taxes, Property, Permits) are **administrative processes** or bureaucratic hurdles. Option A (Law and Order) is a broad **Sovereign/Political function**. The World Bank measures regulatory efficiency, not the political stability or police efficiency of a nation directly in this specific index. The 'Odd One Out' is the broad political metric.
Mains GS-3 (Investment Models): While 'Law and Order' is not in the WB Index, it is a critical real-world barrier to investment in India. Use this contrast in Mains: 'While India improved in technical parameters (Permits/Taxes), the qualitative aspect of Law & Order (a State subject) remains a structural bottleneck.'