State is India’s most competitive

MUMBAI: Maharashtra is number 37 on the World Competitiveness Scoreboard 2006, a report by the Switzerland-based Institute of Management Development, up from 42 last year.

Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said, “This again proves Maharashtra’s dominance as far as global investments are concerned.”

India is at 29, up from 39 last year. No other Indian state is in the list. Maharashtra and seven other regional economies were chosen for their impact on the global economy and the availability of comparable statistics. The state is followed by countries like South Korea, Greece, Russia and Italy. The US, Hong Kong and Singapore take the first three slots.

The report ranks countries and regions on four factors — economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure. This year, it ranks 61 nations and regions.

According to MN Chaini of the Maharashtra Economic Development Council, “Maharashtra understands the needs of investors.” In April 2005-March 2006, the state got investment proposals worth Rs20,117 crore from 34 companies. Of these, 32 proposals have been passed.

But officials caution that debt has also reached Rs1,10,000 crore. A major grouse is that Maharashtra gets mega projects but small- and medium-scale industries go outside.

The IMD is a non-profit foundation located in Lausanne. The World Competitiveness Centre pioneered this ranking in 1989. The National Productivity Council, New Delhi, helped it distribute the survey questionnaires and procure data.