Among 100 countries India takes 30th place with reported from world economic forum

New Delhi: With Friday there was announcement from World Economic Forum, with as many as 100 countries were included in the “Readiness for the Future of Production Report 2018” were India got the 30th place as global manufacturing index. It was measured under which countries are best placed from the changing nature of production due to improvement in technology. India was ranked 30th on the structure of production, or the baseline of production in the country today, which takes into account the scale and complexity of production.

However all countries which were ranked on the drivers of production – which include the level of technology and innovation, human capital, sustainable resources, demand etc. India was ranked 41st on this parameter. Among BRICS countries, Indian is ranked behind China (which is at fifth place) but ahead of Brazil, Russia and South Africa. Japan was ranked first on the structure of production, and the United States on the drivers of production. While Japan has been proven to have the best structure of production in the Geneva-based WEF’s first ‘Readiness for the future of production report’ and is followed by South Korea, Germany, Switzerland, China, Czech Republic, the US, Sweden, Austria and Ireland in the top 10.

As with the report, which analyses development of modern industrial strategies across the world, has categorized the 100 countries into four different groups – Leading countries (strong current base of production and high level of readiness for the future), High Potential countries (limited current base, high potential for future), Legacy countries (strong current base, at risk for the future, and Nascent countries (limited current base, low level of readiness for the future). India has been placed in the ‘Legacy’ group along with Hungary, Mexico, Philippines, Russia, Thailand and Turkey, among others. China figures among ‘leading countries’, while Brazil and South Africa are in ‘nascent’ ones. As per the WEF said India is the fifth largest manufacturer in the world, with a total manufacturing value of $420 billion (Rs 26 lakh crore) in 2016. The international group said that India’s manufacturing sector had grown by an average of 7% per year over the last three decades, and accounted for 16%-20% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.

About India WEF report said

India, the 5th-largest manufacturer in the world with a total manufacturing value added of over USD 420 billion in 2016, the WEF said the country’s manufacturing sector has grown by over 7 per cent per year on average in the past three decades and accounts for 16-20 per cent of India’s GDP. “Home to the second-largest population in the world and one of the fastest growing economies, the demand for Indian manufactured products is rising. India has room for improvement across the drivers of production, except for demand environment where is ranks in the top 5,” the WEF said. It listed human capital and sustainable resources as the two key challenges for India and said the country needs to continue to raise the capabilities of its relatively young and fast-growing labour force. This entails upgrading education curricular, revamping vocational training programmes and improving digital skills, the WEF said, while adding that India should continue to diversify its energy sources and reduce emissions as its manufacturing sector continues to expand.It also took note of the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative to make the country a global manufacturing hub and of “a significant push” to improve key enablers and move towards a more connected economy with announcement of a USD 59 billion investment in infrastructure in 2017 as reported in Hindu business.

Certainly India has potential with home to the second-largest population in the world and one of the fastest growing economies, the demand for Indian manufactured products is rising as was pointed in the report.