Now Reading: NITI Aayog roadmap targets global professional services push
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NITI Aayog roadmap targets global professional services push
NITI Aayog has released a report proposing reforms to make India’s professional services globally competitive, as the country seeks to realise its Viksit Bharat 2047 vision. Professional and management consulting services alone…
The Story in Brief
NITI Aayog has released a report proposing reforms to make India’s professional services globally competitive, as the country seeks to realise its Viksit Bharat 2047 vision. Professional and management consulting services alone accounted for nearly 20% of India’s total services exports in 2024-25, and the segment grew at an 18% CAGR between FY15 and FY25, according to RBI data cited by the think tank.
The report highlights regulatory fragmentation across professions. Legal services face the highest restrictiveness, with an OECD index score of 0.865, followed by accounting at 0.762 and architecture at 0.537. Key issues include the prohibition on multidisciplinary legal practices, advertising curbs under the Advocates Act, and lack of statutory recognition for in-house counsel. India is not a signatory to the WTO’s Services Domestic Regulation disciplines.
The Indian Opinion
The claim that India's professional services are held back mainly by red tape ignores a deeper truth: many restrictions, like the bar on lawyer advertising, exist for good reason, to protect clients from exploitation. The real test will be whether NITI Aayog’s proposed reforms can cut needless rules without opening the door to fly-by-night operators. How many of these recommendations will actually make it past the Bar Council and ICAI? That number will tell us if the government is serious or just issuing another report.
Source: businesstoday.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
