Geneva, Sept 28 (NIA) – In a huge leap forward, India has moved up 16 positions to rank 55th on a global index of the world’s most competitive economies, where Switzerland remains on top.
The jump in India’s position underlines the country’s recent economic recovery, improvement in the competitiveness of the country’s institutions and its macro economic environment and a “slight improvement” in infrastructure, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said in its latest Global Competitiveness Report, the FirstPost reported.
Globally, Switzerland has retained its top position as the world’s most competitive economy for seventh year in a row and is followed by Singapore, the US, Germany and the Netherlands in the top-five. These are followed by Japan, Hong Kong, Finland, Sweden and the UK in the top ten.
Among emerging economies, India has ended five years of decline with a 16-place jump to 55th position. However, South Africa is ranked higher and it has re-entered the top 50, progressing seven places to 49th.
WEF said that the most problematic factors for doing business in India include corruption, policy instability, inflation and access to finance.
The areas where India ranks better were investor protection, gross national savings, quality of education system, venture capital availability, hiring and firing practices, GDP and domestic market size, public trust in politicians and burden of government regulation.
Elsewhere, macro economic instability and loss of trust in public institutions has dragged down Turkey (51st), as well as Brazil (75th), which posted one of the largest falls.
China, holding steady at 28, remains by far the most competitive among large emerging economies, although its lack of progress moving up the ranking shows the challenges it faces in transitioning its economy, the WEF said.
