By Shruti Chakraborty

You probably knew it. But the World Bank has just certified it. India is one of the toughest countries to do business in; 132nd in a list of 185 countries to be precise, said the bank's latest Doing Business report.

According to the report, which released on October 22, entrepreneurs in our closest neighbors are also having a much simpler time than entrepreneurs in India. On the ease of doing business, Sri Lanka ranks 81st while Bangladesh ranks 129th, Pakistan ranks 107th and Nepal ranks 108th.

However, in the report's study of efforts in reducing the gap between their performance and the best performance on all indicators, India was found to have made a significant improvement. It is ranked amongst the top 50 economies that are narrowing the gap on all indicators of the study since 2005. "India stands out in the region as an economy that has consistently improved since 2005," said Augusto Lopez-Claros, Director, Global Indicators and Analysis, World Bank Group.

"After establishing its first credit bureau in 2004, India focused mostly on simplifying and reducing the cost of regulatory processes in key areas such as starting a business, paying taxes, and trading across borders." Sri Lanka implemented the most regulatory reforms among the eight economies covered in South Asia, helping create a better environment for local entrepreneurs.

However, in comparison to the previous year's report, India lost a few positions on the 'ease of starting a business' ranking grid. India ranks 173rd this year as compared to its 169th position last year. On dealing with construction permits, India is almost at the bottom of the table. It ranks 182nd on the ranking that reflects ease in dealing with construction permits.

Not surprisingly, it's easier to get electricity in 104 countries than in India. In the last report there were 98 such countries. Registering property seems to have gotten slightly easier in India as its ranking on that parameter has improved from 97 to 94. Getting credit is as hard as it was last year. India has also lost a few positions on the measure of protecting investors and is one short of being last on the measure of ease of enforcing contracts.

The World Bank's annual Doing Business report ranked 185 countries on the basis of regulations that enhance or constrict business activity. Regulations affecting 11 areas of the life of a business are covered in the report. The report looks at regulations around starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency and employing workers.