Progress by indices

Merely focusing on specific marque indices alone cannot ensure a desired outcome

Global indices are increasingly becoming the yardstick by which countries — especially developing countries struggling for foreign direct investment — seek to judge themselves on the world stage. Can they be considered accurate signals of a nation’s progress? India’s variable performance on a range of indicators suggest there is room for doubt — lots of it.  

There is, for instance, considerable excitement now that India has jumped five places up the rankings in the latest Global Innovation Index, from 57 to 52 out of 126 economies. As with India’s rapid promotion up the World Bank’s Doing Business rankings, which saw India