India Ranked 30th on Global Manufacturing Index in World Economic Forum Report

Ahead of its annual meeting in Davos, Geneva-based World Economic Forum has put India at 30th position on the global manufacturing index. With the best structure of production, Japan topped the list, followed by South Korea, Germany, Switzerland, China, Czech Republic, the United States, Sweden, Austria and Ireland. These countries made the top 10 in the list, titled ‘Readiness for the Future of Production Report’ that was released on Jan. 12.

While China outranked India by a large margin at 5th place, India is above the rest of its BRICS peers — Brazil took the 41st place, while Russia was ranked 35th and South Africa at the 45th spot.

The report analyses development of modern industrial strategies and urges collaborative action. It categorized 100 countries into four groups — Leading (strong current base, high level of readiness for future); High Potential (limited current base, high potential for future); Legacy (strong current base, at risk for future); or Nascent (limited current base, low level of readiness for future).

India is in the ‘Legacy’ group, along with Hungary, Mexico, Philippines, Russia, Thailand and Turkey. China is among the ‘Leading’ countries, while Brazil and South Africa are in ‘Nascent’ group.

India is the 5th-largest manufacturer in the world, with a total manufacturing value of over $420 billion in 2016, the WEF said, adding that 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 it ranks in the top 5,” the report said.

Saying that the country needs to continue to raise the capabilities of its relatively young and fast-growing labor force, the report listed human capital and sustainable resources as the two key challenges for India. According to WEF, it entails upgrading education curricula, revamping vocational training programs and improving digital skills.

The WEF noted the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative and its “significant push” to improve key enablers and move towards a more connected economy with announcement of a $59 billion investment in infrastructure in 2017.

India has been ranked 9th in terms of scale of production, 48th for its complexity and 3rd for its market size. The areas where the country is ranked poorly (90th or even lower) include female participation in labor force, trade tariffs, regulatory efficiency and sustainable resources.