- India now ranks 44th in IMD global competitive rankings
- IMD surveyed 63 countries for the index
- USA beat Hong Kong and Singapore to secure the top position
As Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) completes four years in government, India has improved its position in the global competitive rankings given by the IMD World Competitiveness Center. In the 2018 report by Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD), India improved its ranking by one position to 44 from 45 in 2017. A total of 63 countries were assessed.
"Some of the challenges which India has to face for the year 2018 would be skilling of manpower and employment generation, streamlining the implementation of goods and services tax and balancing high growth with sustainable development goals," adds the report.
"Digital literacy and adequate bandwidth at rural areas and mobilisation of resources for infrastructure development needs are few more key areas where the government needs to concentrate," the report further said.
India had a roller coaster ride in the past four years in the IMD ranking. In 2013, the country was positioned at 40 and dropped to the 44th rank in 2014. The ranking was same for 2015 while India jumped to 41st in 2016 before dropping to 45 in 2017.
USA back to numero uno position
The five most competitive economies in the world remained the same while the order has been changed. United States of America (USA) returned to top spot after being third in 2017. Hong Kong, Singapore, Netherlands and Switzerland are ranked from the second spot to the fifth spot. Hong Kong dropped a spot while Singapore remained third. The countries ranked from sixth to tenth are Denmark, UAE, Norway, Sweden and Canada.
IMD ranking is based on various parameters in diverse areas. These include domestic economy, international trade, international investment, employment, prices, public finance, tax policy, institutional framework, business legislation, societal framework, productivity and efficiency, labour market, finance, management practices, attitudes and values, basic infrastructure, technology infrastructure, scientific infrastructure, health and environment, and education.
