New Delhi, Jan 20 (KNN) India has slipped 11 places to rank 89th on a global index of talent competitiveness, which ranks countries globally on the basis  of  competitiveness based on the quality of talent it can produce, attract and retain.
 
It is released every year on the first day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting held in Davos. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will lead a team of Indian business honchos at the Forum this year.
 
An acute shortage of skilled labour force and difficult business conditions has been cited as the reason for India’s slide in the index coupled with large emigration rates of high-skilled people.
 
Switzerland followed by Singapore, Luxembourg, the US and Denmark are in the top five positions on the annual Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTC) released today.
 
India’s ranking is worst among the five BRICS countries, with China leading the pack with a global rank of 48. Last year, India was ranked 78th on the index
 
Investing in higher education and neglecting vocational education has been mentioned as a reason for India remaining a net exporter of talent, the study said which downgraded its talent index.
 
Both in China and India, skill shortage in vocational talent showed up clearly in the GTCI scores, as it also does in South Africa.
 
“In India, there are no signs of an improved regulatory and market landscape to enable the ‘Make in India’ campaign” the report says..
 
According to the report, another challenge for countries like India is to attract talent from abroad, particularly in the context of large emigration rates of high-skilled people in the past. (KNN/ DB)