India, Aug. 21 -- On Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for regulatory reform so we can better weather the storm of uncertainty that besets us. We must cut through the regulatory thicket that stifles our competitiveness, while often hurting the very cause it purports to protect. A prime example is the mandate that 33% of industrial land be set aside for "green cover" to get environmental clearance. This rule means that a factory running on one acre in China would need 50% more land - 1.5 acres - in India for the same output. The assumption that reserving such green cover benefits the environment, in practice, not only handicaps Indian industry but also hurts the environment.

The handicap to industry is clear: For the s...