INDIA MAKES GAINS IN DIGITAL TECH RACE VIJAYALAKSHMI RAJU LAW CRITIQUE Tue, Oct 22, 2019, at ,11:22 AM India has advanced four places to 44th position in terms of digital competitiveness in the world as the country has made improvements in terms of knowledge and future readiness to adopt and explore digital technologies, according to a global report. India rose from 48th place in 2018 to 44th rank this year as the country has improved overall in all factors - knowledge, technology, and future-readiness - as compared to last year’s ranking. “India advanced four places to 44th position in 2019, with the biggest improvement in the technology sub-factor level, holding the first position in telecommunications investment,” according to the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2019 (WDCR). The US was ranked as the world’s most digitally competitive economy, followed by Singapore in second place. Sweden was ranked third, followed by Denmark and Switzerland in the fourth and fifth spots, respectively. Others in the list of top 10 most digitally competitive economies include the Netherlands (6), Finland (7), Hong Kong SAR (8), Norway (9) and South Korea (10). The largest jump in the overall ranking was registered by China, rising from 30th to 22nd, and Indonesia, from 62nd to 56th. “In the case of China, the improvement originated mainly in the knowledge factor (18th) in which it progressed in the training and education sub-factor (from 46th to 37th) and in scientific concentration (21st to 9th),” the report said. Several Asian economies advanced significantly in the ranking compared to last year. Hong Kong SAR (8) and South Korea (10) entered the top 10 for the first time, while Taiwan and China moved up to 13th and 22nd places, respectively. “India and Indonesia jumped four and six positions, respectively, supported by positive results in talent, training, and education as well as the enhancement of technological infrastructure,” said Arturo Bris, director of the IMD World Competitiveness Center. The rankings, produced by the IMD World Competitiveness Center, measures the capacity and readiness of 63 nations to adopt and explore digital technologies as a key driver for economic transformation in business, government and wider society. To evaluate an economy, WDCR examines three factors: knowledge, the capacity to understand and learn the new technologies; technology, the competence to develop new digital innovations; and future-readiness, the preparedness for the coming developments.