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India ranks 103 in WEF’s Global Human Capital Index, behind Nepal, Sri Lanka

In a major disappointment for the country, World Economic Forum’s Global Human Capital Index has placed India at 103rd among the list of 130 countries. Apart from standing at the bottom of the heap among the G20 nations, India’s rank is the lowest among the BRICS nations. Though slightly ahead of neighbouring Bangladesh (111) and Pakistan (125), India’s position among the South Asian countries lies below Sri Lanka (70) and Bangladesh (98).

On employment gender gap, India ranks among the lowest in the world but has managed to place itself at the 65th position on the development of skills needed for the future. With clear indication towards Indians being, mostly engaged in informal or subsequent employment, WEF ranked India 118 for labour force participation among the key 35-54 year old demographic. The previous year, India was ranked 105th on the list by WEF, while Finland topped the chart.

Citing the factors because of which India failed to tap its human capital, WEF said, “India is held back by a number of factors, including low educational attainment (primary education attainment among 25 -54-year-olds is 110th for example) and low deployment of its human capital, meaning the skills available are not getting put to good use.”

However, asserting that India’s performance was good in the know-how parameter that measures the use of specialized skills at work, WEF mentioned, “When it comes to the development of skills needed for the future, the country fares strongly, ranking 65 out of 130. India faces a number of challenges but looks to be moving in the right direction.”

Among the BRICS nations, Russian Federation was ranked at the 16th place with China at 34th, Brazil at 77th and South Africa at 87th place. Norway topped the list this year, pushing Finland to the second position. The other top countries in the list of the Global Human Capital Index include Switzerland (3), United States (4th), Denmark (5th), Germany (6th), New Zealand (7th), Sweden (8th), Slovenia (9th) and Austria (10th).

The WEF’s list to measure the human capital rank of a country is compiled based on “the knowledge and skills people possess that enable them to create value in the global economic system”.

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