SME Times News Bureau | 09 Oct, 2019
The Global Competitiveness Report 2019 showed India
falling 10 positions, to the 68th rank, in the World Economic Forum's (WEF)
Global Competitiveness Index.
The concept of Global Competitiveness Index 4.0. 2019 is anchored in growth
accounting theory, which measures the sum of growth in the factors of
production -- labour and capital -- and of total factor productivity (TFP).
"India ranks 68th, down 10 places in 2019. The drop is only partly the
consequence of a relatively small decline in score (61.4 points, -0.7 points),
but also, and more significantly, the progress made by several countries ranked
close to India: Colombia (62.7, +1.1 points, 57th position), Azerbaijan (58th),
South Africa (60th) and Turkey (61st)," said the Global Competitiveness
Report 2019.
India trails China (28th, 73.9) by 40 places and 14 points.
The report showed that along with Brazil (71st), it is among the low-performing
BRICS countries, although the competitiveness profiles of the two economies are
quite different.
India ranks beyond 100th on five pillars and features in the top 50 of just
four pillars. However, it does rank high on macroeconomic stability (43rd) and
market size (3rd). Its financial sector (40th) is relatively deep and stable
despite the high delinquency rate (106th), which contributes to weakening the
soundness of its banking system (89th), it said.
This comes as a major blow for India as it aims to become a major player in the
world and become a $5 trillion economy by the financial year 2024-25.
India, however, performs well when it comes to innovation (35th), well ahead of
most emerging economies and on par with several advanced economies, the report
said.
Electrification rate was almost 90 per cent in 2017, up 7 percentage points
from 2015. At the same time, health conditions remain poor, as reflected in low
healthy life expectancy (59.4 years, 109th), which is one of the shortest
outside Africa and significantly below the South Asian average.
The report also said that India must also grow its skills base and in terms of
product market efficiency the country stands at 101st position.
"Product market efficiency (50.4, 101st) is undermined by a lack of trade
openness (43.9, 131st) and the labour market is characterised by a lack of
worker rights' protections, insufficiently developed active labour market
policies and critically low participation of women (ratio of female workers to
male workers of 0.26, 128th)," it said.