PTI
New Delhi
In a rather dramatic turnaround, India has climbed a spectacular 16 places to the 55th position among 140 economies in this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index, ending five years of decline.
The list was topped by Switzerland, followed by Singapore, the US, Germany and the Netherlands. Among the larger emerging markets, South Africa progressed seven places to 49th place, while China held steady at 28, Indonesia was 37th (down three) and Brazil was 75th, the WEF said.
India’s dramatic reversal is largely attributable to the momentum initiated by the election of Narendra Modi, whose pro-business, pro-growth and anti-corruption stance has improved the business community’s sentiment toward the government. The quality of India’s institutions is judged more favourably (60th, up 10), although business leaders still consider corruption to be the biggest obstacle to doing business in the country.
In a bid to help India leapfrog into the top 50 in the World Bank’s ease of doing business rankings by 2017 from the low 142nd (out of 189 countries), the Modi government, with the help of the bank, has carried out a state-wise assessment of implementation of business reforms. The sub-national exercise was also aimed at improving the spirit of cooperative and competitive federalism to, in turn, push up India’s ranking.
