India Jumps 16 Spots To Rank 39 In World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index

India has jumped 16 spots to rank 39 in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index.

It is now the second most competitive country amongst the five-nation BRICS bloc, behind China, which is at 28th spot. Switzerland, Singapore and the US were the top three ranking countries.
The Global Competitiveness Report 2016-17 rankings were based on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) which was introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2005. 138 countries were analysed before the list was compiled.

Other South Asian nations in the list were Srilanka at 71, Nepal at 98, Bhutan at 97, Bangladesh at 106. Pakistan has been ranked at 122, last amongst the region.
The parameters on which competitiveness was based were policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of country. The calculations of the GCI scores were made by drawing country level data, covering 12 categories which were: institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education, and training, goods market efficiency, labour market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication and innovation.

Among the six south-Asian economies covered, only India achieved the rank in the nine East-Asian emerging economic features in the top half of the GCI rankings as reported. India stagnated between 2007-2014 and slipped down the GCI ranking. After new government took office in 2014, India jumped up the ranking to 39th. Also, financial markets development dragged down India’s competitiveness compared to 10 years ago. The Reserve Bank of India has increased transparency in the financial market and cast light on the large amounts of non-performing loans, not reported previously.
It is a confidence booster to the Narendra Modi government for its economic and business policies. As India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, this result is expected. But India is still failing to provide several basic amenities to its citizens, which need to improve.