It is like a leap backward, as the country was expected to improve upon its performance in business competitiveness. Clearly, things are going wrong in several areas. The big companies doing business here have given a long list of problems that they are facing.

The problems can be divided into two broad categories. First, there are constraints like poor infrastructure and financing facilities which stem from chronic economic backwardness. These can be eliminated through long-term plans and their timely execution.

Second, bottlenecks which are but the results of negligence, inefficiency and dishonesty on the part of the bureaucracy hinder business activities more than anything else does. The survey has identified 'corruption' as a major problem, along with bureaucratic incompetence and the absence of public trust in the honesty of politicians.

These are all inter-linked and intricate issues that successive governments have failed to address successfully. Corruption accounts for a huge rise in business costs, as the big companies have complained. It is pointless to expect that the business environment will improve appreciably as long as corruption eats up a big chunk of the money invested in business.

Similarly, bureaucratic incompetence, which is attributable in part to the widespread corrupt practices, is slowing down the pace of business activities to a great extent. The government has made some organisational adjustments and changes to add the element of dynamism to handling of business issues, but lack of coordination among the agencies is still very much visible.

The decision-makers must find answers to the questions raised by the survey if they want the country's business competitiveness to improve.