New Delhi, June 30 The World Bank representatives on Tuesday observed that it is easier to do business in India at present, than it was three years ago.

The observation was made in a report 'Doing A Business in India 2009' that was released here in New Delhi.

The report ranks the cities in India based on seven parameters.

These factors range from starting a business, dealing with construction permits, registering property, paying taxes to trading across borders, enforcing contracts and closing a business.

It has taken into account 17 states in the country and noted that Hyderabad and Bhubaneshwar are the two nodal locations suitable for opening and operating business easily.

Besides these cities, the report has also spoken high of Ahmedabad, New Delhi, Jaipur, Patna, Chennai, Indore, Mumbai, Ranchi, Guwahati, Kolkata and Kochi among the other cities where setting up and operating a business is easy.

According to Penelope Brooke, Vice President in the Financial and Private Sector Development Department of the World Bank, regulatory reforms can help businesses operate efficiently in the formal sector and if the reforms are done then Cities in India can have good ranks.

"There are very simple things that you can do to streamline processes and cut red tape. They don't require you to change rules or regulations. They require you to think about, 'can I put in place one stop shop where a business person can come to comply.' That can be done relatively fast. We have seen countries making these kinds of changes in a year, in 18 months or even more and you can get the big ranks quite fast with the red tape cutting reforms," said Penelope Brooke. (ANI)