Competitiveness of Indian Cities: Study of 37 Indian Cities on Competitiveness Framework of Institute for Competitiveness

JYVASKYLA, Finland - Institute for Competitiveness (www.competitiveness.in/about.html), India today released the India City Competitiveness Report 2009 which endeavours to evaluate the 37 cities in India. The report preview (www.competitiveness.in/) was released at 12th TCI Annual Global Conference at Jyvaskyla, Finland.

This is the first time that an endeavour encompassing similar insight or expanse has been undertaken for Indian cites. The India City Competitiveness Report 2009 is a project rooted in academic research, striving to reveal the determinants of competitiveness. The growth of the nation becomes a summated function of competitiveness at various levels wherein the cities form an important harbinger for prosperity, spreading first to the surrounding regions, then to the state and finally to the country level, thus creating a global impact. The focus of the report is to throw light on the determinants of competitiveness of the cities; and thus lay guidelines for policy making bodies, make them discern their flaws, while showcasing potential.

Mumbai ranks the highest among the cities while Patna, Jamshedpur and Vishakhapatnam despite their traditionally crucial industries are lagging behind. Their sophisticated business environment, better infrastructure and abundant educational and skill support make Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai the leading cities in their potential for regional development and growth.

Resource use is exemplified in terms of efficiency and the best use possible with the people enjoying a good living standard and income. But India as an economy is plagued with dualism with a very prominent divide between the top cities and the more traditional growth centres like Vishakhapatnam and Jamshedpur. All the cities leave a lot to be asked in terms of infrastructure and bureaucratic barriers but nevertheless, from the fast emerging trends some of the top cities in the ranking show a promise for a better, more progressive future. A more positive trend is the emergence of the newer cities in the face of congestions and limits in the traditional centres. Ahemdabad, Pune and Surat have shown a very consistent even if relatively lower performance on each of the four scales of competitiveness. They favour trends of stable growth rates in their human resource and infrastructural potential.

What Indian cities severely lack is clear vision for what they wish to achieve in the next 20 to 30 years. There is a compelling urgency all cities should sense and act upon, towards projecting themselves as Branded Destinations for Foreign Direct Investment. Intense soul-searching and mapping of competitive positioning alone shall enable every city to carve out its unique appeal as an investment destination, rather than a faceless generic monolithic we-are-open-to-all-kinds of investments pitch.

The authors are Dr. Amit Kapoor (Honorary Chairman, Institute for Competitiveness & Professor of Strategy at MDI, Gurgaon) (www.competitiveness.in/honorary-chairman.html) and Sandeep Mann. Christian Ketels from Harvard Business School, Susan Zielinski from University of Michigan, Gordon Feller from Urban Age Institute et al are contributors to the report amongst others. In coming forth with this Report, Institute for Competitiveness, India fulfils its aim of studying competition and its implications for company strategy; and thus generate guidelines for businesses and those in governance. The report would be available for purchase beginning November 1, 2009.

Media Contact: Dr. Amit Kapoor e: amit.kapoor@competitiveness.in m: +91-98104-02639

Source: Institute for Competitiveness

Media Contact: Dr. Amit Kapoor, e: amit.kapoor at competitiveness.in, m: +91-98104-02639