Can it? Certainly. You could cite the legal systems, infrastructure and cricket as major benefits. Most tend to lean towards negative, as it's easier to see the racial and cultural animosity as being worsened due to British rule. It's also easy to look at the Muhgals at their peak compared to how things were with the brits involved and decide they ruined it, but post Aurangzeb the empire was really pretty shite.

The thing often overlooked when this question is asked is that it wasn't really a choice between British rule and independence. The real alternative to British rule would most likely have been subjugation by another imperial power. Russia certainly had ambitions towards India. The question has then to be was British rule better than the alternatives. India was a myriad of nations, there was no single India until the British. It could have been swallowed entire by another power or carved up piecemeal like Africa.

Short answer is no, long answer is also no.

There are lots and lots of negatives, and the only positive which is remotely possible is the English language.