India is known for widespread poverty but mining billionaire Gina Rinehart says Australia should copy it when it comes to cutting red tape.
Australia's richest person promoted her second book during a function at the home of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi overnight, praising him for doubling the country's economic growth.
The book, titled From Red Tape to Red Carpet, features Mr Modi on the cover and is named after his policy.
Mrs Rinehart railed against the amount of red tape that companies face in Australia, including approvals, permits, licences and compliance costs, to a VIP audience including Mr Modi and Australia's Trade Minister Andrew Robb.
In Australia, compliance was more important than performance, but India recognised that red tape can lead to corruption, she said.
"Australian politicians are genuinely surprised when I ask them how many approvals, permits and licences were required by government to get to construction," she said.
"They guess around 100 or so, but Roy Hill (Mrs Rinehart's iron ore mine) has faced more than 4,000 government approvals, permits, and licences - and that doesn't count many, many more for construction.
"Layers of red tape just keep pushing up costs in Australia and frankly Australia can't afford this."
Mrs Rinehart said she would never have gone ahead with her career in mining if she had known how much red tape was involved.
India, on the other hand, was being turned from a country where enterprise was stifled to one where red tape was being reduced by Mr Modi, she said.
"In less than a year of office, approximately doubling its economic growth, to the great benefit of its citizens, and in fact now leading the world with its economic growth," she said of Mr Modi.
Mrs Rinehart is part of a coal joint venture in Queensland with India's GVK.
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