India ranks 124th globally in economic freedom
harmony
India ranks 124th globally in economic freedom
Washington: With an economic freedom score of 53.8, India has been rated the
124th freest economy in the world, according to the 16th annual Index of
Economic Freedom, released by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street
Journal.
Based on this global survey countries were also ranked according to their
regions and India is ranked 24th out of 41 countries in the Asia-Pacific
region. India's score is 0.6 point lower than last year as a result of
declines in freedom from corruption, business freedom, and monetary freedom.
The country's overall score is below the world average of 59.4 on a scale of
100.
The level of economic freedom in the world dipped slightly in 2009,
according to the index released Wednesday as Hong Kong and Singapore
finished 1st and 2nd in the rankings for the 16th straight year.With
Australia in 3rd place and New Zealand moving up to number 4, the
Asia-Pacific region boasts a clean sweep at the top
This is only the second time in the history of the Index that average scores
for countries measured in successive years have declined.
According to the index one reason for the dip in world economic freedom was:
To help ward off recession, many governments launched unsuccessful attempts
to spend their way to prosperity.
India continues to move forward with market-oriented economic reforms and
has achieved average growth of about 9 percent over the past five years, the
report said.
"Despite sluggish progress in reducing onerous non-tariff barriers, the
trade regime has gradually become more open, with its average tariff rate
decreasing," it said but "The state still plays a major role in over 200
public-sector enterprises."
"Public debt is 80 percent of GDP, leaving little fiscal room to react to
the global downturn. India's overly restrictive regulatory environment does
not facilitate entrepreneurship or realization of the economy's full
potential," the report said.
"Corruption is pervasive, and the judicial system remains inefficient and
clogged by a large backlog of cases. Labour freedom is especially weak, with
rigid regulations a costly impediment to further economic growth and job
creation."
Europe registered three top 10 placements: Ireland, Denmark and Switzerland.
As a cautionary tale about the dangers of government intervention, the
United Kingdom dropped out of the top 10 for the first time in Index
history.
The United States also dropped significantly, to 8th place. Both countries
increased government spending, and each lost more than 2.0 points on its
Index score.
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