Japan has been found to have the best structure of production in the Geneva-based World Economic Forum’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.
The WEF has ranked India at 30th position below China’s 5th place but above other BRICS peers, Brazil, Russia and South Africa, Outlook India reported.
Among BRICS nations, Russia is ranked 35th, Brazil 41st and South Africa 45th place.
The report, which analyzes development of modern industrial strategies and urges collaborative action, has 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 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.
The 25 ‘leading’ countries are in the best position to gain as production systems stand on the brink of exponential change, the WEF said in the report published ahead of its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland later this month.
At the same time, no country has reached the frontier of readiness, let alone harnessed the full potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in production.
About India, the 5th-largest manufacturer in the world with a total manufacturing value added of over $420 billion in 2016, the WEF said the country’s manufacturing sector has grown by over 7% per year on average in the past three decades and accounts for 16-20% 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.
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 $59 billion investment in infrastructure in 2017.
The countries ranked better than India include Singapore, Thailand, the UK, Italy, France, Malaysia, Mexico, Romania, the Netherlands, Denmark, the Philippines and Spain.
In a separate list of the countries’ best positioned to capitalize on the Fourth Industrial Revolution to transform production systems, the US has been ranked on the top, followed by Singapore, Switzerland, the UK and the Netherlands in the top five. India has been ranked 44th on this list, while China is 25th and Russia in 43rd place.
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