Indian bureaucracy among the worst

India, Indonesia and the Philippines have Asia’s most inefficient bureaucracies, with red tape a constant blight to citizens and deterrent to foreign investment, says a survey of expatriate business executives by the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy.

India, Indonesia and the Philippines have Asia’s most inefficient bureaucracies, with red tape a constant blight to citizens and deterrent to foreign investment, says a survey of expatriate business executives by the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC).

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Singapore and Hong Kong have the most efficient bureaucracies. Ranking 12 key countries and territories on a scale from one to 10, with 10 as the worst possible score, the executives rated India as having the region’s most inefficient bureaucracy. India had a score of 9.41.

PERC said 1,373 middle and senior expatriate executives took part in the survey.

In India, “politicians frequently promise to reform and revitalise the Indian bureaucracy, but they have been ineffective in doing so — mainly because the civil service is a power centre in its own right,” it said.

Dealing with India’s bureaucracy “can be one of the most frustrating experiences for any Indian, let alone a foreign investor,” it added.