In a reference to global rating agencies, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday welcomed India’s improved rankings in a global competitiveness survey and expressed hope that it would be noted by everyone.

“Rating agencies follow their own procedures. We hope everyone takes note of this (report),” he told reporters.

His comments come after India jumped 16 places to the 39th spot in the Global Competitiveness Index 2016-17 and had noted that India has the highest growth amongst all G-20 countries.

However, earlier this month global rating agency Moody’s had raised concerns over the health of India’s banking sector and “tangible” reforms and said a rating upgrade would be possible only after 12 to 24 months.

The Finance Minister noted that measures taken by the government over the last two years have borne fruit.

“Since Day One, we have taken a series of steps for structural reforms. In the last two years, we have moved up by 32 positions,” he said, expressing hope that India’s ranking on the index would improve further with the roll out of the Goods and Services Tax from next April.

“The report indicates that the implementation of GST from April 1, 2017 will be taken into consideration,” he said, adding that efforts to improve Information and Communication Technology through the Digital India campaign will also help improve India’s ratings on the index.

However, a further improvement in India’s ratings on the Ease of Doing Business report may have to wait until next year as reforms including the passage of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and the Constitution Amendment Bill for GST were undertaken after its cut-off date. India currently ranks 130 out of 189 countries on the Ease of Doing Business ranking and Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants the country to move into the top 50.

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