India’s Competitiveness and Current Paradigms

Although India has comprehensively turned around five years of decline and climbed 16 places in one year, the Global Competitiveness Index 2015 report still places India among the “factor driven economies” because we have largely “insufficient” and “ill-adapted” infrastructure to the needs of the competitive economy. However, in the last one year, political stability coupled with government steps to make industry and business competitive have helped to spur optimism. Further:

1. Improving the figures of inflation, industrial production and GDP will help to create more competitive environment.
2. Creation of more employment opportunities with skill development and measures to improve the power production in the country will certainly help to improve the competitiveness.
3. Making states as partners in the development process will improve the Competitiveness of India. The States need to co-operate as well as compete among themselves to create a more competitive India.
4. The power to attract investments depends on the competitive tax rates. The Union government should make the tax policies more rationally to suit to the global demands.
5. Implementation of Urban development programmes like Smart Cities, AMRUT, housing for all will empower the cities and make them independent and autonomous to decide their destiny. The programmes also help to build the environmentally and economically better cities. This will improve their competitiveness and overall competitiveness of India.
6. Implementation of Bibek Debroy committee report with respect to railways sector is a step in the right direction for modernization. It will improve the connectivity in the country.
7. More reforms are required in sectors like grain storage and coal that are dominated by government monopoly.
8. Measures should be taken to increase the exports through diversification of products and target, and by removing trade barriers.
9. The country should open more sectors for FDI attraction. Public Sector Enterprises should be looked more in a strategic manner.
10. Economic diplomacy space should be expanded.