India moves up one spot to 68 on Global Entrepreneurship Index

HYDERABAD: India has moved up one place to the 68th spot on the Global Entrepreneurship Index of 2018, which is topped by the US.

India was at the 69th position last year.

The US topped the index, which ranked 137 countries, this year also, Jonathan Ortmans, president of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), said today.

"India is in 68th position in the Global Entrepreneurship Index. The USA is in first position in 2018. The list was prepared for 137 countries in the world.

"Each country is ranked according to its GEI score to indicate overall entrepreneurship attitude and potential," Ortmans said at a session at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit ( GES) being held here.

India was at 76th position in 2014, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Development Institute (GEDI), a Washington, DC-based policy development organisation dedicated to expanding economic opportunities for individuals, communities and nations.

Last year, India enjoyed the largest jump in the rankings, moving up 29 spots to 69th position.

India was strong in product innovation while weak in the area of technology absorption, last year's report had said.

GEN is a platform of programmes and initiatives to help new firms start and scale while working to create a global entrepreneurial ecosystem.

GEN is a strategic partner of GEDI.

The network is conducting a series of public policy focused roundtable events in India to explore innovative public sector approaches to stimulate new firm formations and growth, a GEN press release said.

"Six to eight policy panels are being planned to reach all 30 federal State (states) by the end of 2018 to promote entrepreneurship, create jobs, incentivise capital investments and work towards the sustainability of Indian enterprises by creating global linkages," the release said.

GEN India is in the process of appointing 30 state ambassadors who will lead all GEN India initiatives, including policy panels, entrepreneurship celebrations, national competitions and partnerships, in their respective states, it added.