In January 2018, the World Economic Forum (WEF) released its Global Manufacturing Index.
Japan topped the rankings on the back of developing the best structure of production in the Geneva-based WEF’s first ‘Readiness for the future of production report’. It 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 the 30th position below China (fifth place) but above other BRICS countries, Brazil, Russia and South Africa.Among BRICS nations, Russia is ranked 35th, Brazil, 41st and South Africa, 45th.
The countries ranked higher than India include Singapore, Thailand, the UK, Italy, France, Malaysia, Mexico, Romania, the Netherlands, Denmark, the Philippines and Spain.
Groups
The report, which analyses development of modern industrial strategies and urges collaborative action, has categorised 100 countries in four major groups for its ranking which include, 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); and ascent (limited current base, low level of readiness for future).
China is on the list of ‘Leading’ countries while Brazil and South Africa are in ‘Nascent’ ones.
The report pointed out that the 25 countries placed in the ‘Leading’ category were in the best position to gain as production systems stand on the brink of exponential change.
India has been placed in the ‘Legacy’ group alongside Hungary, Mexico, Philippines, Russia, Thailand and Turkey, among others.
Capitalising on Fourth Industrial Revolution
The report stated that no country has reached the frontier of readiness, let alone harnessed the full potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in production.In a separate list of the countries best positioned to capitalise 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.
India
Referring to India, which had a total manufacturing value of over $420 billion in 2016, the report said that the country’s manufacturing sector has grown by over 7 percent per year on average in the past three decades and accounts for 16-20 percent of India’s GDP.
Home to the second-largest population in the world and one of the fastest growing economies, India is seeing a rising demand for its manufactured products. India has room for improvement across the drivers of production, except for demand environment where is ranks in the top 5.
In terms of the scale of production, India has been ranked ninth, while for complexity it is in the 48th place. For market size, India is on the third spot, while areas where the country is ranked poorly (90th or even lower) include female participation in labour force, trade tariffs, regulatory efficiency and sustainable resources.