World Competitiveness Index UPSC
Source : Business Standard
GS III : Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment

Why in News ?

India maintained 43rd rank on an annual World Competitiveness Index compiled by the Institute for Management Development (IMD) that examined the impact of COVID-19 on economies around the world this year.

Key Facts

• The 64-nation list was led by Switzerland.
• Sweden has moved up to the second position (from sixth last year)
• Denmark has lost one place to rank third, the Netherlands has retained its fourth place and Singapore has slipped to the fifth place (from first in 2020).
• At eighth, Taiwan reached the top-10 for the first time since the ranking began 33 years ago (moving up from 11th last year).
• The UAE and the USA remain in their same spots as last year (9th and 10th, respectively).
• In Asia
  • The top-performing Asian economies are, in order, Singapore (fifth), Hong Kong (seventh), Taiwan (eighth) and China (16th).

    

• BRICS nations
  • India is ranked second after China (16), followed by Russia (45th), Brazil (57th) and South Africa (62th).
• Overall Indian Performance
  • India has maintained its position for the past three years but this year, it had significant improvements in government efficiency.
  • India’s improvements in the government efficiency factor are mostly due to relatively stable public finances (despite difficulties brought by the pandemic, in 2020 the government deficit stayed at 7 per cent) and to the positive feed backs we registered among Indian business executives with respect to the support and subsidies provided by the government to the private companies.
  • Short term performance of India’s economy will depend on its ability to address the pandemic.
• Overall World Performance
  • Qualities such as investment in innovation, digitalisation, welfare benefits and leadership, resulting in social cohesion have helped countries better weather the crisis the best and thus ranked higher in competitiveness.
  • Strength in these areas prior to the pandemic allowed these economies to address the economic implications of the crisis more effectively.
  • Competitive economies succeeded in transitioning to a remote work routine while also allowing remote learning.
  • Countries that ensured the effectiveness of key public spending, such as public finance, tax policy and business legislation, are seen as essential policies to relieve the pressure on the economies hit by COVID-19.

Daily Current Affairs : Click Here

World Competitiveness Index UPSC : Read for Prelims