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The Institute for Competitiveness (the Indian partner of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at the Harvard Business School) and the Martin Prosperity Institute founded the Prosperity Institute of India [...]]]> Insights: Creative India

The Institute for Competitiveness (the Indian partner of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at the Harvard Business School) and the Martin Prosperity Institute founded the Prosperity Institute of India (TPII) in September 2012. As a partner, MPI and the PII engages in research and publishes Insights, research reports, academic papers, and working papers with the objective to help enhance the current and future prosperity and competitiveness within India, with a specific focus on examining the role of creativity and the Creative Economy. It is important for a creative analysis of India to take place, as despite having one of the largest populations and economies in the world, there are many common misconceptions and unknowns regarding India, highlighting the need for an in depth analysis of the data available. We here at the MPI have worked to start this examination with the release of our first India report. By looking at the Creative Economy in India at the State level, this Insight presents a small section of our results: the Creativity Index within the States and Union Territories in India.

Richard Florida’s measure for economic potential, the Creativity Index is outlined in Rise of the Creative Class and Rise Revisited along with numerous MPI Insights, working papers, and reports. The Index combines the three T’s (Talent, Technology and Tolerance) to help determine a region’s economic potential and ability to attract and retain the Creative Class. For a complete explanation of the Index, please follow this link. For this report we modified the 3Ts based on the data available for India as well as specific factors unique to the country. The following metrics were used to measure each of the 3Ts; Tolerance: Mosaic Index, Religious Herfindahl Index, percentage foreign born, and rural/urban literacy ratio; Talent: Creative Class share and degree share; Technology: tech connectivity, tech education, and computer access.

A common misconception held regarding India is the notion that the Information and Communications Technology sector of the labour force is the primary driver of the economy. By analysing India in regards to the 3Ts of economic development, we aimed to examine what aspects of Talent, Technology, and Tolerance are driving India’s economy, across different locations. Exhibit 1 presents the Talent, Technology, and Tolerance indices for the 5 States and Union Territories (UT) that were found to have the highest overall Creativity Indices in India and the 5 with the lowest. As presented in Exhibit 1, Delhi was found to be the State or Union Territory with the highest Creativity Index in India, due largely to the region’s strong performance on our Technology and Talent Indices. What is also apparent in Exhibit 1 is that while generally the top 5 States or Union Territories had either a high Talent or Technology Index (or both); they usually held a lower Tolerance Index. The most troublesome assertion that can be made when looking at Exhibit 1 is the polarization that exists between the economic potential of different States and Union Territories, as the difference between the top and the bottom is quite stark. While the 5 States and Union Territories with the highest Creativity Indices have an average Creativity Index of 0.88, while the bottom 5 have a substantially lower average of 0.12.

Exhibit 2 presents the Creativity Index for each State and Union Territory within India according to how they score. The darker the shade of orange indicates a higher Creativity Index while the lighter the shade of orange indicates a lower score on the Index. At first glance, what stands out the most is the large geography covered by the States and Union Territories that scored the lowest on the Creativity Index. This central region encompasses the States and Union Territories with the lowest Creativity Index, as a ring is created around them. In contrast to this region, the areas that rank the highest on our Indices are spread out in different geographical locations of the country, as opposed to being clustered together. The States and Union Territories that have a Creativity Index near the median in India are also spread out, but they usually surround at least one of the regions found to have a high Creativity Index. Illustrated in Exhibit 1 was the large disparity between the most and least creative regions in India, and Exhibit 2 presents that this disparity is also apparent in geographical scale. The States or Union Territories with the highest Creativity Index are smaller, more compact and dense regions, while the areas with the lowest Creativity Index are many of the geographically largest areas. Not only are these regions geographically large, but they have large populations as well. Each light orange area combined to a population of over 545 million people, or 45% of the country’s total population. The regions with the darkest shade and highest Creativity Index bracket, present the opposite, as together these regions only attribute to about 6.7% of the total population. Many of the greater populated rural States compared to the lesser populated urban States presents a divide within the country, in which urban locations seem to have much greater economic potential.

We here at the Martin Prosperity Institute have examined the Creativity Index of many regions, as it allows us to gauge the economic potential of places to succeed within the knowledge economy.This Insight has presented our results for India, highlighting a great divide within the country between the economic potential of rural and urban areas. While this divide exists, there are many States and Union Territories found to be within the middle of the pack, in which there is a capacity to increase economic growth by developing the 3Ts locally. This report will be the first in a series, as the MPI aims to better understand how all regions around the world can work towards prosperity in the knowledge economy.

To see how India is performing on a host of indicators, including occupational shares, share of households with a computer, educational attainment and many others, please read the full India state report found here.

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The first report on the Creative economy of India is launched by the Martin Prosperity Institute (MPI) & Institute for Competitiveness (IFC) & measure all 28 Indian States and 7 Union Territories on a Creative Index

Creative Index measures Tolerance, Technology & Talent, the 3Ts of economic development 

The first report on the Creative economy of India is launched by the Martin Prosperity Institute (MPI) & Institute for Competitiveness (IFC) & measure all 28 Indian States and 7 Union Territories on a Creative Index

New Delhi, 3 May 2013 – According to the Creative Index Report 2013, the first in the series, launched by the Martin Prosperity Institute (MPI), Institute for Competitiveness (IFC) & The Prosperity Institute of India (TPII), Delhi takes the top spot as the most creative state in India with the greatest potential for success in today’s creative economy. Chandigarh, Punjab, Kerala, Goa, Mizoram, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Puducherry, and Maharashtra round out the top 9.  Haryana and Manipur are tied for the 10th position.

The Creative Index Report 2013, analyses India’s creative economic assets across its 28 States and 7 Union Territories. It explores the presence of the 3Ts – Technology, Talent and Tolerance in economic development within each State and Union Territory in India to measure the capacity of each State and Union Territory to support creativity- driven economic development strategies.

“Each of the 3Ts is important to economic development and in establishing a robust Creative Economy, no one T on its own can provide sufficient support to sustain growth and continued prosperity. Taken together, these 3Ts of economic development combine to produce the Creativity Index, a measure of a regions overall Creative Economy”, suggests Kevin Stolarick (PhD), Research Director, Martin Prosperity Institute and the lead author of this report. “India should recognize the importance of building Talent, courting Technology and promoting Tolerance in gaining an economic advantage. Such an approach for India would mean recognizing the creative talent of its residents in order to develop the businesses and industries of tomorrow; investing in the infrastructure required to mobilize more innovation and economic growth; and recognizing the importance of openness and diversity in gaining economic advantage”.

Tolerance, the first “T” of economic development is a quality recognized as essential to objective thinking since the 19th century. In the Indian context, the Mosaic index has been used to measure the level of tolerance in a region. The Mosaic Index is calculated by the concentration of Scheduled Tribes or Castes, percent of population that is foreign born, rural and urban literacy divide, and finally, a Religious Herfindahl Index, which measures religious diversity within a specific State or Union Territory.

In the overall Tolerance Index, the results show that regions in the Far North, Far East, and South West stand out among India’s 28 States and 7 Union Territories. More generally, the regions located on or near geo-political borders, major metropolitan areas, and those positioned along the West coast tend to score better on the Tolerance Index than those in central regions and along the east coast, which score poorly.

Talent is the second “T” of economic development. Talented individuals are responsible for generating the innovative ideas that result in newly developed technologies that can stimulate economic growth and prosperity. While incubating talent through investments in employee training and education is important, the regions that can successfully attract and retain talent will ultimately be the most competitive.

The Talent Index is used to measure the amount of Talent within a region. Talent is measured as the percentage of a region’s workforce that is employed in Creative Class occupations. The Creative Class is largely responsible for generating the new and creative ideas that support economic growth. The Creative Class is individuals’ who are often engaged in either complex problem solving or in the generation of new ideas, new technology, and new creative content. This occupational grouping includes people employed in management, finance, law, healthcare, science, engineering, architecture, design, education, arts, music, and entertainment.

The Creative Class in India comprises approximately 14% of the workforce, but varies considerably from region to region. Twelve States and Union Territories have over 20% of their workforce employed in the Create Class. Those scoring highest are: Nagaland (35.5%), Arunachal Pradesh (29.5%), Mizoram (29.1%) and Chandigarh (28.2%).

Within India, the Far North, Far East, and Southern States and Union Territories appear to have higher concentrations of the Creative Class than central and western regions. High performing regions tend to have lower overall populations than the low performing regions. Due to smaller populations, the proportion of the population employed in management and professional occupations is relatively higher compared to the same in more populous regions. This inflates the Creative Class component of the Creativity Index in these regions; thereby inflating their final overall score on the Index.

Approximately 4.1% of Indians over the age over the age of 25 hold a Bachelor’s degree or higher. Like the concentration of the Creative Class, Degree share is not evenly distributed around the country. The states or territories with the highest degree shares are Chandigarh (16.47%), Delhi (13.12%), and Puducherry (8.59%).

The Talent Index combines Creative Class and degree share measures to illustrate which States and Union Territories have been the most successful in attracting and retaining talented individuals. Chandigarh leads all regions followed in second by Delhi, Goa, Kerala and Puducherry.

Technology is a critical component for any region that seeks to achieve economic growth and prosperity and is the final “T” in the 3T analysis. The greater the extent to which technology is part of a region raises the competitiveness of that region by improving the ability of businesses to provide new goods and services and acquire cost-saving advantages, often through productivity gains.

Three composite indexes – Tech Connectivity, Tech Education, and Computer Access are used to calculate a region’s level of technological capability and together, these measures are used to produce what is called the Technology Index. Tech connectivity is composed of three sub-categories: the shares of households per 100,000 with broadband internet access, hard line telephone access, and mobile phone access. Tech education is measured by combining the numbers of universities, colleges, technical colleges, and technical research institutions in a region. Finally, internet connectivity is measured by the share of households with a computer or laptop and access to the internet.

Although 3.1 % of the Country’s house-holds have access to the Internet, certain regions have much higher rates such as Chandigarh (18.8%), Delhi (17.6%) and Goa (12.7%), and Mobile phone usage follows a similar pattern as the Internet access map. While 63.2% of Indians uses mobile phones, the regions of Delhi (90.8%), Kerala (89.7%) and Lakshadweep (36.7%) have rates high above the national average.

Educational institutions are well distributed around the county with particularly high scores in Mizoram (4.99), Tripura (3.72), and Delhi (3.11).

Approximately 9.5% of the Indian population has access to a computer while certain regions perform considerably higher. Chandigargh (33.2%), Goa (31.1%), and Delhi (29.1%) have the highest rates of computer access.

The leading regions in India that are the most technology sophisticated, according to the Technology Index, are the States and Union Territories in the far north and south. Delhi ranks the highest of all regions followed by Kerala, Mizoram and Karnataka. Similar to the Talent Index, the Tech Index scores appear to be highest in regions with large urban centers and/or strong international economic connections either through trade or tourism.

“Indian states have a rich heritage and culture, but we are simply not able to exploit the possibilities. We need to create some social capital or engagement. We need to engage people outside rather than at home to stimulate creativity. What matters in the end is creating cities that enable technology, talent and tolerance whilst using the unique territorial assets”, opines Dr. Amit Kapoor, Honorary Chairman, IFC & Contributing Advisor on this report.

Press Release at Martin Prosperity Institute

May 3-4, 2013

Agenda:http://www.educationbiz.in/2013/conference_agenda.php

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April 17 – April 19, 2013

April 12, 2013

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Interview published in The Economic Times dated April 12, 2013. To know more

April 8-10, 2013

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A member of jury panel as well.

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March 28-29, 2013

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March 24, 2012

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Institute For Competiveness invites applications at www.tapscottaward.com/application/apply/

India, New Delhi, 18th February 2013 – Institute For Competitiveness today announced the launch of the Tapscott Award in India. The award aims [...]]]> Institute for Competitiveness announces the Tapscott Award

Award to honor innovative initiatives in cross-platform use of digital media

Institute For Competiveness invites applications at www.tapscottaward.com/application/apply/

India, New Delhi, 18th February 2013 – Institute For Competitiveness today announced the launch of the Tapscott Award in India. The award aims to bring together and acknowledge agencies, companies, associations, NGOs, institutions and individuals in India who are spearheading the digital revolution. The award will be given under the following categories of – Collaboration, Openness, Sharing, Integrity and Interdependence. Don Tapscott announced the Award, at the event done by Institute for Competitiveness and Exchange4Media held on 13th February 2013, at the Leela, Gurgaon. It was attended by CEO’s like Anoop Prakash from Harley Davidson, Ajit Balakrishnan from rediff etc. Don also gave the keynote address at the event where he spoke about the booming Internet having changed the media landscape and its changing nature having brought about a transformation in various aspects of business.

“Mass collaboration is changing the way businesses communicate, create value, and compete in the new global environment. The new model of economic and social innovation is helping in getting a more involved and sustainable business. The world has come to a turning point and business models have to be rebooted to address the changing needs of the connected consumer, which can only be done through collaborative innovations”, said Don.

Don Tapscott is one of the world’s leading authorities on innovation, media and the economic and social impact of technology and advises business and government leaders around the world. He is one of the top 10 living business thinkers in the world according to the definitive list of Thinkers50. Over 30 years he has introduced many groundbreaking concepts that are part of contemporary understanding. His work continues as a the Chairman of Moxie Insight, a member of World Economic Forum, Adjunct Professor of Management for the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and Martin Prosperity Institute Fellow. As measured his influence on social media Don Tapscott is the Number 1 business thinker in the world.

The Tapscott Award is an initiative of the Prosperity Institute of India. Institute for Competitiveness, India has tied up with the Martin Prosperity Institute, at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and set up the Prosperity Institute of India. Its objective is to enhance the prosperity and creativity of Asia by sharing knowledge on 3 T’s – Technology, Talent and Tolerance. The institute would publish research insights, reports, academic papers, working papers, articles and interviews that would focus on the current prosperity and competitiveness level of India and its states and other Asian countries.

Institute for Competitiveness is currently inviting participation for the Tapscott Award that will be presented in July 2013. To apply, interested participants need to log in at www.tapscottaward.com/application/apply to fill an application form. Companies will be shortlisted by a jury.

“Our aim is to bring together and acknowledge individuals and corporates in India who are spearheading the digital revolution by harnessing the true potential of web technologies and thus bringing about a paradigm shift”, said Dr. Amit Kapoor, Honorary Chairman, Institute for Competitiveness.

More about Don Tapscott

Don is one of the world’s leading authorities on innovation, media, and the economic and social impact of technology and advises business and government leaders around the world. In 2011, Don was named one of the world’s most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50. He has authored or co-authored 14 widely read books including the 1992 best seller Paradigm Shift. His 1995 hit The Digital Economy changed thinking around the world about the transformational nature of the Internet and two years later he defined the Net Generation and the “digital divide” in Growing Up Digital. His 2000 work, Digital Capital, introduced seminal ideas like “the business web” and was described by BusinessWeek as “pure enlightenment.” Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything was the best selling management book in 2007 and translated into over 25 languages.

The Economist called his newest work Macrowikinomics: New Solutions for a Connected Planet a “Schumpeter-ian story of creative destruction” and the Huffington Post said the book is “nothing less than a game plan to fix a broken world.”

About Institute for Competitiveness

Institute for Competitiveness, India is the Indian knot in the global network of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School. Institute for Competitiveness, India is an international initiative centered in India, dedicated to enlarging and purposeful disseminating of the body of research and knowledge on competition and strategy, as pioneered over the last 25 years by Professor Michael Porter of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School. Institute for Competitiveness, India conducts and supports indigenous research, offers academic and executive courses, and provides advisory services to the Corporate and the Governments. The institute studies competition and its implications for company strategy; the competitiveness of nations, regions & cities and thus generate guidelines for businesses and those in governance; and suggests and provides solutions for socio-economic problems.

To know more, visit www.competitiveness.in

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Abhilasha Padhy, M: +91 9811994307, E: abhilashapadhy@aether-marketing.com

Description: Using the Careers360 platform, around 30 Deans/Directors/Presidents of premier B-schools of the country interacted with the students and gave answers to their admission related queries etc.

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Dr. Amit Kapoor, Honorary Chairman, Institute for Competitiveness, India
Prof. Dinesh Singh, Vice Chancellor, Delhi University

Article published on BBC News Business. To know more

Academic Paper published in International Journal of Trade and Global Markets 2013 – Vol. 6, No.1 pp. 22-39 by Inderscience Publishers.
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Article published in Financial Express on January 12, 2013. Download PDF. 

New Delhi, India, Wednesday, December 26, 2012

South Indian cities dominate the top ten cities slot as Nagpur, Pune, Nashik, Madurai and Bengaluru exhibited a lot of improvement and have significantly risen from [...]]]> New Delhi falls 12 places and Chennai emerges as the most liveable city in the country according to the “Liveability Index 2012”

New Delhi, India, Wednesday, December 26, 2012

South Indian cities dominate the top ten cities slot as Nagpur, Pune, Nashik, Madurai and Bengaluru exhibited a lot of improvement and have significantly risen from their previous low ranks

Highlights

• New Delhi losses out by scoring high on the crime parameter.
• Chennai grabs the numerouno position by beating Delhi, which was stable with its 1st rank for the last two years
• Hyderabad is spotted at 2nd position and gained two positions
• Other two top metros, Mumbai and Kolkata slide down from their previous ranks and are placed at 3rd and 7th position respectively
• Kolkata arises as the city with the best supporting infrastructure in terms of residence, drinking water, source of lighting etc.
• Major positive as well negative shifts are noted in the ranks of few cities such as Vijayawada, Gurgaon, Kozhikode, Varanasi, Ludhiana, and Puducherry etc.
• The index provides insight into the quality of life available to people and provides evidence on the future state of the city in terms of its liveability.

Institute for Competitiveness, India brings forth the third issue of Liveability Index, which assesses 50 prosperous Indian cities on more than 250 indicators. The framework used for the index is an evolved adaptation of the world-renowned diamond model of Professor Michael Porter of Harvard University. It is founded on 8 pillars, which further divides into 20 constituent sub-pillars. The Index strives to maintain the highest level of data integrity. Behind the index, a variety of mathematical calculation is done which are supported by numerous reliable and credible data sources.

A city is termed as liveable if it provides a favorable living environment to its residents and indirectly benefits the people who visit it. The favorable environment comprises of various measurable factors such as, presence of quality education and health institutions, planned environment, appropriate infrastructure, safety of the people, strong administration etc. It has to do with answering questions like ‘can I live here happily with my family’? This goes beyond quality of life which is merely a single construct and a part of liveability. Similarly, for corporates who require well-connected roads, regular supply of power, skilled employees etc. for their business processes.

The overall Liveability Index 2012 is an integration of categories such as demographic, education, health and medical standards, safety, housing option, socio-cultural-natural environment, economic environment, and planned environment. It identifies those areas where progress is being made or maintained and areas where we need to be vigilant and allocate resources in order enhance its prosperity levels. In addition, it has taken a holistic approach in order to gauge the status of liveable cities in India by taking into consideration both, urban and rural factors.

According to the Liveability Index, Chennai with its strong presence in planned environment and by being in the top five slot of most of the pillars such as education, health & medical standards and socio-cultural-natural environment has scored the number one position. However it lags considerably on safety pillar, which can be a reason of its downfall in the next year like it is for Delhi. The capital of India, New Delhi even after doing exceptionally well on three pillars has witnessed drastic dip in its rank because of its poor performance on other pillars. It scores 49th rank on safety, 45th rank on socio-cultural-natural environment etc.

Due to similar reasons, Mumbai also slipped from its previous 2nd position to 3rd position but is untouched on the economic environment and still holds the number one spot. Kolkata also did relatively poor on the overall index, except at one or two sub-pillars such as supporting infrastructure.

The cities, which are and will attract masses in the near future, are Nagpur, Pune, and Nashik with 4th, 5th and 6th position respectively on the Liveability Index.

Gurgaon rising to the 17th position from its 50th position might appear as a surprise to many but it has actually performed well on pillars like economic environment (3rd) and socio-cultural-natural environment (4th). Likewise, other regions falling in the NCR, Noida and Faridabad have marked 16th and 41st position correspondingly.

Although cities such as Kochi (18th), Kozhikode (20th), Jaipur (26th), Bhubaneswar (27th) etc. which earlier appeared as promising cities have faded this year and have fallen extremely from their previous positions.

Cities who are ranked in the bottom ten are Raipur, Dhanbad, Ranchi, Guwahati, Patna, Kanpur etc. due to their below average performance on most of the pillars.

Dr. Amit Kapoor, Honorary Chairman, Institute for Competitiveness, India commented on this year’s rankings, “Liveability is not just a growth concept infact it is a function of various crucial factors that affect the living environment of an individual. The liveability index 2012 is a well-knit model defining the living potential of Indian cities across the country. The poor performance of some Indian cities on the index clearly indicates that they should realize the value of becoming more liveable for all the citizens and should strategize to accomplish the goal without compromising on productivity.”

The index presents a powerful model that comprehensively maps a city’s liveability quality from various perspectives and puts forth the real picture of individual city in 2012. The report on liveability index 2012 will be available on shelf on January 8, 2013. Although rankings are available at
http://competitiveness.in/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Liveability-Index-2012.pdf

Press Release

New Delhi, India, Monday, December 10, 2012

Highlights

For more information http://competitiveness.in/bridging-lessons-global-heath-delivery-india/

Boston, USA, Wednesday, December 12, 2012

On the occasion of successful completion of 10 years of Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School, founder Professor Michael E. Porter presented Dr. Amit Kapoor, Honorary Chairman, Institute of Competitiveness, [...]]]> An Indian Faculty, Dr. Amit Kapoor, Inducted in the Prestigious Harvard Business School Hall of Fame

Boston, USA, Wednesday, December 12, 2012

On the occasion of successful completion of 10 years of Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School, founder Professor Michael E. Porter presented Dr. Amit Kapoor, Honorary Chairman, Institute of Competitiveness, India with Competitiveness Hall of Fame award for his exemplary contribution with substantial global and national impact in the area of national economic competitiveness, strategy, creating shared value et al.

Boston. Dr. Amit Kapoor received the honor during a ceremony at Harvard Business School on December 11, 2012. The distinctive honor – Competitiveness Hall of Fame – is awarded to those dignitaries who with their academic and research contributions to the Competitiveness network have made a positive influence on the society. The Competitiveness network comprises of both universities and business schools spread across the globe, which are more than 100.

The award was given to Dr. Kapoor for his contribution to the study and evolution of the concepts of competitiveness internationally and for India specifically. Only 9 people globally have been admitted to this hall of fame.

At a formal ceremony, attended by over 140 academicians from 78 universities worldwide, Professor Porter appreciated Dr. Amit Kapoor’s contribution in setting up the Institute for Competitiveness (India), launching the Journal of Competitiveness and Strategy, and engendering commendable work that has been done in relationship to benchmarking locations in India.

Reading the citation Professor Michael Porter said “Amit has been associated with Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School since 2003 and has been at the forefront of the efforts pertaining to competitiveness and strategy. He formed an Institute for Competitiveness, India as an affiliate of Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School that has gone on to become very influential and visible in his home country of India. Amit has pioneered competitiveness benchmarking, measurement and index effort in his country and has had been prominent in the governance of microeconomics of competitiveness network and efforts. Amit started publishing a journal of competitiveness and strategy through Institute for Competitiveness, India and he has a beehive of activities that include publications like City Competitiveness Report, State Competitiveness Report and awards like the India’s most competitive states. Tremendously entrepreneurial and I really think that he has managed to contribute in a very complex country in a very complex environment where it takes a lot to make things happen. Amit we are very proud of you in inducting you into the hall of fame”.

Dr. Amit Kapoor is Honorary Chairman at Institute for Competitiveness, studying firms, clusters and economies and is also a Professor of Strategy at Management Development Institute, India. He is an affiliate faculty for the Microeconomics of Competitiveness & Value Based Health Care Delivery courses of Institute of Strategy and Competitiveness, Harvard Business School. Dr. Kapoor’s doctoral work is in Industrial Economics and Business Strategy; he has received the Ruth Greene Memorial Award winner for writing the best case of the year, by North American Case Research Association (NACRA). He has been invited by Kennedy School of Government & Harvard Law School, Harvard University; World Economic Forum at its India Economic Summit and Asia Summit to present his views on various issues and themes like strategy, outsourcing and economic development. His research interest lies in the fields of Enhancing Competitiveness, Competitive Advantage and Leveraging Technology for Success.
Dr. Kapoor is the author of India City Competitiveness Report, India State Competitiveness Report, and India State Sustainability Report amongst others. He is also a columnist with Mint, Financial Express and Outlook Business. Based on his work, two awards have been constituted titled “State Competitiveness Awards” by Mint & Hindustan Times wherein the Chief Ministers are awarded and “Institute for Competitiveness – Mint Strategy Awards” wherein the corporates are awarded for their strategic acumen.

Dr. Amit Kapoor is a popular teacher at the Management Development Institute, Gurgaon where he teaches courses such as Strategic Management and Microeconomics of Competitiveness. In addition, he has also developed several courses on context and competition.

His latest publication “Enabling healthcare services for the rural and semi-urban segments in India: when shared value meets the bottom of the pyramid”, is from the area of Healthcare and was published in the Journal of Corporate Governance, Elsiver 2012.

More details about him can be looked upon at www.linkedin.com/in/competitiveness

Press Release

Authors: Dr. Amit Kapoor, the honorary chairman of Institute for Competitiveness, India and Professor of Strategy at MDI, Gurgaon and Sandeep Goyal, Fellow with Institute for Competitiveness, India

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Article published in The Financial Express on September 29, 2012. Download PDF

Assessment of Strategy in Corporate India. Edging Past (Download PDF)

New Delhi, India, Friday, September 29, 2012

Highlights

Article published in Financial Express on September 20, 2012. Download PDF.

Article published in Outlook Business on September 29, 2012. Download PDF.

The Institute for Competitiveness, the Indian knot in the global network of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School and the Martin Prosperity Institute, at the University of Toronto’s Rotman [...]]]> Prosperity Institute of India Established by Institute for Competitiveness, India and University of Toronto’s Martin Prosperity Institute

The Institute for Competitiveness, the Indian knot in the global network of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School and the Martin Prosperity Institute, at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management have joined hands to establish the Prosperity Institute of India. The Institute, which will be operated by the Institute for Competitiveness, will be based in Gurgaon, India, with the Martin Prosperity Institute (MPI) being a partner in all the activities carried out by the Institute.

The Institute has been set up with the objective of enhancing the prosperity and creativity of Asia by sharing knowledge on 3Ts which are Technology, Tolerance and Talent. Developed by the Martin Prosperity Institute, they are a useful analytical tool for understanding regional economic prosperity and growth by improving the traditional model emphasizing on companies, jobs or technology. The primary activities of the Institute will be research and publications, training, advisory and events which would further help in disseminating knowledge about creativity and prosperity among the genres.

The Institute will publish research insights, research reports, academic papers, working papers, articles and interviews that will focus on the current prosperity and competitiveness level of India and its states and other Asian countries and the strategies that would help them to enhance their current and future prosperity levels. Moreover, the research reports and academic papers will encompass subjects such as city prosperity, state prosperity, global prosperity, creative city economies, creative state economies, prosperity and competitiveness of countries in the Asian region and other relevant topics.

Another goal of the newly established Institute is to train interested scholars on various topics on competitiveness such as Creative Economies, Prosperity and Competitiveness, Creative Regional Strategies, and Creative Cities.

The Prosperity Institute of India also plans to provide advisory services to the government bodies, private organisations, corporations, and, multilateral and bilateral organizations in the region. This work will be led by the directors of the MPI and the Institute for Competitiveness including Prof. Richard Florida, Dr. Amit Kapoor, and Dr. Kevin Stolarick, the MPI’s research director.

The Institute will also organize conferences and other events to discuss India’s and other Asian countries’ creativity and prosperity.

About Institute for Competitiveness

Institute for Competitiveness, India is the Indian knot in the global network of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School. Institute for Competitiveness, India is an international initiative centred in India, dedicated to enlarging and purposeful disseminating of the body of research and knowledge on competition and strategy, as pioneered over the last 25 years by Professor Michael Porter of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School. Institute for Competitiveness, India conducts and supports indigenous research, offers academic and executive courses, and provides advisory services to the Corporate and the Governments. The institute studies competition and its implications for company strategy; the competitiveness of nations, regions & cities and thus generate guidelines for businesses and those in governance; and suggests and provides solutions for socio-economic problems.
Find out more at http://competitiveness.in

About Martin Prosperity Institute

The Martin Prosperity Institute (MPI) is a global think-tank located at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and led by Professor Richard Florida. Its goal is to cultivate a deeper understanding of economic prosperity, foster global dialogue about it, and create new tools and solutions to develop it. MPI is the world’s leading think-tank on the role of sub-national factors – location, place and city-regions – in global economic prosperity. It takes an integrated view of prosperity, looking beyond economic measures to include the importance of quality of place and the development of people’s creative potential. Find out more at: http://martinprosperity.org/

Press Release

Academic Paper published in Corporate Governance, Volume 12, Issue 4. To purchase a copy

New Delhi, India, Monday, August 27, 2012

Highlights

Article Published in Financial Express on August 16, 2012. Download PDF.

Oceans cover three-fourths of the total geographical area of Earth and the total volume of water on Earth is estimated to be around 1.4 billion square kilometers. But the unfortunate part is that ground water, which can be used by people, constitutes only 0.8% of total water volume while the rest [...]]]>

Oceans cover three-fourths of the total geographical area of Earth and the total volume of water on Earth is estimated to be around 1.4 billion square kilometers. But the unfortunate part is that ground water, which can be used by people, constitutes only 0.8% of total water volume while the rest lies in the form of oceans and snow on mountains and glaciers. A growing population combined with huge demand of water for development purposes has put excessive stress on available water resources.

The uneven distribution of water-resources, artificial modification of natural flow of rivers and human abuse are the main reasons for the looming water crisis in India. Bihar and West Bengal have the lowest per capita length of rivers and canals—less than 4 centimetres—one of the primary reasons for the non-availability of water for irrigation purposes and the falling agriculture sector in these states. Nearly all the states except Karnataka have been found to be suffering from the problem of deficient and scanty rainfall in their region. The worst affected among the states are Delhi, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan & Chhattisgarh.

The stage of ground water development reflects the usage of water with respect to availability of water resources in the region. The situation of ground water is critical in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. It becomes more evident from that fact that more than 50% of the assessed units in these states are found to be critical or over-exploited with respect to the availability-usage situation of water resources. These states need urgent attention from the government and the implementation of proper water management techniques to prevent severe water crises.
States like Himachal Pradesh and Mizoram have the lowest per capita replenishment of water, less than 70 cubic metres. Looking deeper at the future demand of water, it is interesting to note that the demand for water is going to be doubled in the next 15 years in many states. This raises an alarm bell for all stakeholders to take adequate steps to control water abuse and the storage of water for future usage.

The Article was published with Financial Express on July 28, 2012.  Download PDF

India is both domestically and internationally attractive for business with its open environment, promising young talent and untapped resource and market potential, says a report by the Institute for Competitiveness.

Its booming cities are set to become major commercial hubs. It is generally perceived that cities that have [...]]]> India’s 20 most promising cities in Rediff

India is both domestically and internationally attractive for business with its open environment, promising young talent and untapped resource and market potential, says a report by the Institute for Competitiveness.

Its booming cities are set to become major commercial hubs. It is generally perceived that cities that have secured lower scores are less competitive, not so prosperous and lagging behind in the growth race.

However all cities have their unique strengths and are part of the overall urban ecosystem in India, the report says.

While the most competitive cities are bustling metros, there are many more developing cities, all set to join the big league of economic powerhouses.

Take a look at India’s 20 most promising cities with a great growth potential…

India’s 20 most promising cities in Rediff

Presented analysis of India’s Competitiveness and growth versus the other BRIC countries.

Followed by a graded exercise for the students based on the topic of lecture: Issue of poverty

Latest report has been founded on four pillars — the factor conditions, demand conditions, context for strategy and rivalry, and the quality of supporting and related industries.

City  Competitiveness Report 2012 on Yahoo

| 1 | 2 | 3 |

The India City Competitiveness index ranks cities with a view of establishing ‘high road’ strategies for sustainable growth of cities.

In India, Tier-2 and tier-3 cities have progressed significantly offering an optimistic outlook for [...]]]> Cities are the economic powerhouses of a country. Competitiveness, productivity and prosperity of these cities are the key to economic success.

The India City Competitiveness index ranks cities with a view of establishing ‘high road’ strategies for sustainable growth of cities.

In India, Tier-2 and tier-3 cities have progressed significantly offering an optimistic outlook for the country, says the report by Institute for Competitiveness.

The cities listed in the Index are also the most livable and desirable for work, live, play and learn.

City Competitiveness Report 2012 on Rediff

Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata, in [...]]]> India’s most competitive city? Hint: Mumbai’s No 2

India’s capital has emerged the most competitive city in the country for the third straight time with the commercial hub of Mumbai retaining the second spot, according to a report by an international think tank released on Wednesday.

Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata, in that order, follow Delhi and Mumbai to make up the top five in rankings of the India City Competitiveness Report-2012, compiled by the Institute for Competitiveness (IFC) that conducts studies in this area for use by businesses and governments.

“Faridabad, with its high growth has drastically improved in its ranking and holds the 29th spot. Similarly Guwahati recorded a wide improvement in its position,” says the report, unveiled on Wednesday to coincide with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien’s visit here.

The fifth edition of the India City Competitiveness Report is based on a model that has been established by celebrated management guru, Michael E. Porter, Bishop William Lawrance University Professor, based at Harvard Business School.

Regarding New Delhi, the report says the city has managed to demonstrate a phenomenal growth over a period of time by balancing demand and development in equal measure. The two areas it is found lagging in are administrative and institutional support.

The report also says that Noida, another city with close proximity to New Delhi, is now giving tough competition to the metros, even as Pune and Ahmedabad, which have very high potential, slipped a few notches, but remained in top 10 slots.

Among the smaller cities, while Coimbatore, Mysore, Madurai and Guwahati climbed up, Surat, Lucknow, Agra and Allahabad dropped in their rankings.

“Undoubtedly, Indian cities have the required potential to make their mark across the globe. This is clearly evident with in urbanization rate of these cities and by the trend of their growth,” says the report.

“However, it is required that Indian cities work on their strong areas and use it constructively to attract people from different genres. They should build a brand of their own and not follow some other global city.”

Porter’s model is founded on four pillars — the factor conditions, demand conditions, context for strategy and rivalry, and the quality of supporting and related industries. These are further divided into 12 sub-pillars to give information on 50 top cities.

“Cities are drivers of any economy. Their growth will enhance the growth of states and eventually that of the country. In the past few years, they have risen from their age-old shells and proving their potential on the global front,” says IFC chair Amit Kapoor.

When benchmarked globally, Indian cities have much to catch up. Delhi, which takes the top slot in the country, is benchmarked at 46.7 — which is way below 71.4 for New York, 70.4 for London, 55.2 for Shanghai and 69.3 for Hong Kong.

Here’s the ranking of top 10 cities and their score:

-Delhi: 69.732

-Mumbai: 67.856

-Chennai: 62.323

-Hyderabad: 61.782

-Kolkata: 61.464

-Gurgaon: 61.167

-Bangalore: 61.100

-Noida: 60.406

-Pune: 59.854

-Ahmedabad

City Competitiveness Report 2012 in NDTV

Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata, in that [...]]]> Delhi is India’s Most Competitive City, Mumbai next:Report

India’s capital has emerged the most competitive city in the country for the third straight time with the commercial hub of Mumbai retaining the second spot, according to a report by an international think tank released Wednesday.

Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata, in that order, make up the top five in rankings of the India City Competitiveness Report-2012, compiled by the Institute for Competitiveness (IFC) that conducts studies in this area for use by businesses and governments.

“Faridabad, with its high growth has drastically improved in its ranking and holds the 29th spot. Similarly Guwahati recorded a wide improvement in its position,” says the report, unveiled on Wednesday to coincide with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien’s visit.

The fifth edition of the India City Competitiveness Report is based on a model that has been established by celebrated management guru, Michael E. Porter, Bishop William Lawrance University Professor, based at Harvard Business School.

Regarding New Delhi, the report says the city has managed to demonstrate a phenomenal growth over a period of time by balancing demand and development in equal measure. The two areas it is found lagging in are administrative and institutional support.

The report also says that Noida, another city with close proximity to New Delhi, is now giving tough competition to the metros, even as Pune and Ahmedabad, which had very high potential slipped a few notches, but remained in top 10 slots.

Among the smaller cities, while Coimbatore, Mysore, Madurai and Guwahati climbed up, Surat, Lucknow, Agra and Allahabad dropped in their rankings.

“Undoubtedly, Indian cities have the required potential to make their mark across the globe. this is clearly evident with igh urbanization rate of these cities and by the trend of their growth,” says the report.

“However, it is required that Indian cities work on their strong areas and use it constructively to attract people from different genres. They should build a brand of their own and not follow some other global city.”

Porter’s model is founded on four pillars — the factor conditions, demand conditions, context for strategy and rivalry, and the quality of supporting and related industries. These are further divided into 12 sub-pillars to give information on 50 top cities.

“Cities are drivers of any economy. Their growth will enhance the growth of states and eventually that of the country. In the past few years, they have risen from their age-old shells and proving their potential on the global front,” says IFC chair Amit Kapoor.

When benchmarked globally, Indian cities have much to catch up. Delhi, which takes the top slot in the country, is benchmarked at 46.7 — which is way below 71.4 for New York, 70.4 for London, 55.2 for Shanghai and 69.3 for Hong Kong.

Here’s the ranking of top 10 cities and their score:
-Delhi: 69.732
-Mumbai: 67.856
-Chennai: 62.323
-Hyderabad: 61.782
-Kolkata: 61.464
-Gurgaon: 61.167
-Bengaluru: 61.100
-Noida: 60.406
-Pune: 59.854

City Competitiveness Report 2012 in India Today

Delhi has emerged the most competitive city in the country for the third straight time with the commercial hub of Mumbai retaining the second spot, according to a report by an international think tank released on Wednesday.

Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata, [...]]]> Delhi is India’s Most Competitive City, Mumbai next

Delhi has emerged the most competitive city in the country for the third straight time with the commercial hub of Mumbai retaining the second spot, according to a report by an international think tank released on Wednesday.

Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata, in that order, make up the top five in rankings of the India City Competitiveness Report-2012, compiled by the Institute for Competitiveness (IFC) that conducts studies in this area for use by businesses and governments.

“Faridabad, with its high growth has drastically improved in its ranking and holds the 29th spot. Similarly Guwahati recorded a wide improvement in its position,” says the report, unveiled on Wednesday to coincide with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien’s visit to New Delhi.

The fifth edition of the India City Competitiveness Report is based on a model that has been established by celebrated management guru, Michael E Porter, Bishop William Lawrance University Professor, based at Harvard Business School.

Regarding New Delhi, the report says the city has managed to demonstrate a phenomenal growth over a period of time by balancing demand and development in equal measure. The two areas it is found lagging in are administrative and institutional support.

The report also says that Noida, another city with close proximity to New Delhi, is now giving tough competition to the metros, even as Pune and Ahmedabad, which had very high potential slipped a few notches, but remained in top 10 slots.

Among the smaller cities, while Coimbatore, Mysore, Madurai and Guwahati climbed up, Surat, Lucknow, Agra and Allahabad dropped in their rankings.

“Undoubtedly, Indian cities have the required potential to make their mark across the globe. this is clearly evident with igh urbanization rate of these cities and by the trend of their growth,” says the report.

“However, it is required that Indian cities work on their strong areas and use it constructively to attract people from different genres. They should build a brand of their own and not follow some other global city.”

Porter’s model is founded on four pillars — the factor conditions, demand conditions, context for strategy and rivalry, and the quality of supporting and related industries. These are further divided into 12 sub-pillars to give information on 50 top cities.

“Cities are drivers of any economy. Their growth will enhance the growth of states and eventually that of the country. In the past few years, they have risen from their age-old shells and proving their potential on the global front,” says IFC chair Amit Kapoor.

When benchmarked globally, cities in the country have much to catch up. Delhi, which takes the top slot in the country, is benchmarked at 46.7 — which is way below 71.4 for New York, 70.4 for London, 55.2 for Shanghai and 69.3 for Hong Kong.

Here’s the ranking of top 10 cities and their score:

1. Delhi: 69.732
2. Mumbai: 67.856
3. Chennai: 62.323
4. Hyderabad: 61.782
5. Kolkata: 61.464
6. Gurgaon: 61.167
7. Bengaluru: 61.100
8. Noida: 60.406
9. Pune: 59.854
10. Ahmedabad

City Competitiveness Report 2012 in Hindustan Times

This article was published in Financial Express on July 11, 2012. Download PDF

CCR 2012 released at the event done in honor of the Hon’ble Prime Minister of Singapore

New Delhi, India, Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Highlights

Real India conclave_Bihar

Name of few Speakers at the event:

Eight states in India have debt-to-GDP ratios of more than 40%, which will cause a serious problem of debt repayment in the future. As a result of high debt, servicing spiralling interest payments have become one of the most critical issues for the state governments to tackle.

 In fact, [...]]]>

Eight states in India have debt-to-GDP ratios of more than 40%, which will cause a serious problem of debt repayment in the future. As a result of high debt, servicing spiralling interest payments have become one of the most critical issues for the state governments to tackle.

 In fact, some states like Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Bengal are paying interests that are more than half their total revenue receipts.

 In the past five years, debt has increased by an average of more than 60% in all the states, leaving them with little amount to invest for developmental activities. Also, per capita debt is a very effective indicator to understand the depth of debt in an economy. On that count, Goa has the highest per capita debt, of more than R66,000, despite high economic growth.

The high gross fiscal deficit of many states has become a big worry and is unsustainable. Punjab and Kerala have gross fiscal deficits to total capital and revenue receipts more than 25%, which shows the economy is highly leveraged. These states need to focus on bringing down their fiscal deficits and increase non-tax revenues.

Moreover, outstanding guarantees of state governments are contingent liabilities and can cause big debt crises suddenly if debtors default. States like Punjab and Rajasthan have outstanding guarantees that constitute more than 85% of their total receipts, which needs urgent attention. The states need to be very cautious and do accurate risk assessment before providing guarantees for any public sector undertakings or bonds.

This piece was published in Financial Express on June 23, 2012. Download PDF

Business schools, business school faculty and business school education is clearly a remnant of the past, a relic that is struggling to keep itself embedded in history by following archaic and flawed models. This is an idea that captured the imagination of people in the 1960s but continues till today in [...]]]>

Business schools, business school faculty and business school education is clearly a remnant of the past, a relic that is struggling to keep itself embedded in history by following archaic and flawed models. This is an idea that captured the imagination of people in the 1960s but continues till today in India without keeping pace with change, reconfiguring itself and asking questions regarding efficacy, pedagogy and the role of faculty.

Business schools were configured, created and embedded in the reality of the 1960s. The reality was about getting jobs, running existing enterprises, working with public sector units, etc. The world around us has changed dramatically in the last 20 years but business schools and their faculty have not been able to reassess their role.

The world has clearly seen a redefinition of business models wherein the focus is on job creation, generating new ideas, creating business opportunities, generating debates, influencing thinking, training independent thinkers and helping and preparing the next generation leadership.

It is clear that the assumptions on which the whole business school education system was built is archaic and irrelevant today. It is a tragedy that schools that were talking and giving lectures on change in India got more and more enmeshed in the ideas of the past, i.e., more regulation, control, etc.

The problem with business school faculties has been that they are caught in the past with narrow points of view (working within the boundaries of business schools) and have not clearly understood their role and the impact they can create. The faculty and the business school administrators (directors and deans) have been propagating antiquated and defunct ideas pertaining to metrics of performance.

What we need today is a radical shift in ways business schools are structured. The thinking right now is entrenched in intellectual frameworks, which reflect ideas that academics and administrators believe in (such as the elegance of morals) rather than outcomes.

Business school leaders today are a bunch of folks without a perspective. They are trying to keep themselves relevant by propagating thinking that is restrictive and renders the faculty devoid and incapable of positive pursuits. We need leadership, which is not unsure of its position, is flexible and acts as a partner in growth.

The real worth of a faculty is when it is able to create knowledge; business models and most certainly execute those business models. We need faculty, which comprises intellectual entrepreneurs themselves creating enterprises (NGOs, think tanks, etc.). The idea and resolve for India is to create entrepreneurs (job creators) and who is to drive this? Of course, faculty that has thought through, strategized and executed ideas on its own.

We need to let business school faculty seed businesses or start their own businesses (though this is a difficult option as the head of the institute stands to lose his or her relevance). The role or lead anyhow should be taken by deans and directors who will have to reconfigure their thinking on metrics of assessment and evaluation of faculty. The clear metrics on which faculty would have been and should be assessed in the future should be the arc of influence (The question I would typically pose for an answer is: “Why does Amitabh Bachchan make more money than a typical faculty?), challenging the status quo on thinking, outcome and impact of their thinking.

The leadership in business schools will have to find ways to change the thinking of faculty which is exceptionally scared of changing, revolting against the status quo through shedding coercive leadership and their biases (based on associative barriers embedded in the thinking of the early stone age).

An “arc of influence” will create a footprint that is significant, with which would come pretentiousness that the professor is losing focus (remember the idea of elegance of morals that directors or deans seem to carry). Increasing the arc of influence would be tremendously easy with tools available today such as blogging, Twitter, creating forums, think tanks, etc.

Faculty will have to drop its fixated ideas, redefine its roles, go out, contribute, create entrepreneurs (not job-seekers) and be the instrument of creating wealth across the world.

Lot of us could criticize this thinking though remember that exceptional academicians such as Mike Porter, Gary Hamel, Clayton Christensen, Klaus Schwab all created ventures around their research and the world is at their feet.

The article was published in Mint in the issue dated June 15, 2012. Download PDF

The availability and quality of education facilities is an important determinant of competitiveness of a nation. In a nation better the availability of quality and world-class education facilities,  more productive would be the labor force of that nation. The presence of more educational facilities and productive labour force attracts more [...]]]>  

The availability and quality of education facilities is an important determinant of competitiveness of a nation. In a nation better the availability of quality and world-class education facilities,  more productive would be the labor force of that nation. The presence of more educational facilities and productive labour force attracts more foreign and domestic investments which in turn foster high economic activity and development.

The state of Himachal Pradesh has more than 32 higher secondary schools per Lakh of population, which puts this state high on human development parameter. Apart from Himachal Pradesh, Northeastern states score high on the availability of higher secondary schools which is due to lower population density. But, because of the tough geographical terrain it is difficult to cross and go to schools. The lowest availability of higher secondary schools is found in the state of Jharkhand, which is also one of the primary reasons for low social development in that region.

The per capita availability of universities is directly co-related to the availability of the graduates which can be absorbed by the industry. Delhi has the highest – more than six universities per Crore of population which makes the city state one of the best places to recruit talent. The states like Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West-Bengal have less than two universities per Crore of population which is a negative sign for their socio-economic development. These states need to focus a lot on providing more educational facilities and opening up new public and private universities to improve the quality of available labor force.

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Poverty is one of the biggest challenges of India today. It is estimated that more than 300 million poor people resides in the country which is more than total population of many advanced economies. Feeding such a huge proportion of population below poverty line is an extreme challenge which India faces [...]]]>

Poverty is one of the biggest challenges of India today. It is estimated that more than 300 million poor people resides in the country which is more than total population of many advanced economies. Feeding such a huge proportion of population below poverty line is an extreme challenge which India faces today. The total number of slums in India is nearly 49000 and the total population living in slum areas has reached more than 93 million recording a growth rate of more than 23% from 2001 and 2011. The urban slums are growing more than 2.5 times more than the Indian economy has grown in the same period.

Odisha has the highest urban poverty in India with more than 44% urban population lying below poverty line. Other states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal have more than 30% of total urban population below poverty line which is a huge set-back for these states and their developmental policies. Nearly all north-east states have urban poverty ratio of less than 5% which is a good sign for inclusive socio-economic development. Delhi which is one of the fastest growing regions of the country has the highest 17.5% slum population out of total population. Other states like Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Haryana and Punjab are also undergoing the problem of high slum population of more than 10%. The states are suffering from huge housing shortage for the urban poor which need to be addressed urgently. More public investments in housing schemes for the urban poor with effective implementation on ground are needed.

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Highways are the life-line of an economy. Prosperity of a region is directly proportional to the length and quality of highways. Good connectivity through highways ensures smooth and fast movements of goods and people which facilitate greater economic activity. India has more than 70000 Kms of total highway length which is [...]]]>

Highways are the life-line of an economy. Prosperity of a region is directly proportional to the length and quality of highways. Good connectivity through highways ensures smooth and fast movements of goods and people which facilitate greater economic activity. India has more than 70000 Kms of total highway length which is divided unevenly across various states. The largest highway length is in the state of Uttar Pradesh which is about 6774 Kms followed by 5585 kms in Rajasthan. But what here is more important is per capita availability of highways which plays a very crucial role.

It is interesting to note that Delhi has the lowest 0.4 kms of highway per Lakh population which has caused high congestion and slow movement of traffic. This slow movement on the highways is responsible for huge productivity loss due to larger time spent on roads. Other states that have a very low per capita availability of highways are Uttar Pradesh, West-Bengal, Kerala and Bihar. It is worth noting that Arunachal Pradesh has more than 140 kms of highway length per lakh population which is highest in the country. Claims from China over Arunachal Pradesh attributed to the factor of lower population density are responsible for huge investments in the development of highways. Other north-east states like Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Manipur are also found to have high per capita availability of highways due to their strategic importance and geographical factors. India however needs fresh investments for the construction of highways through PPP model. More importantly, a robust mechanism to monitor the construction of highways to ensure timely completion, land acquisition issues and costs is the need of the hour.

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Healthcare is a very important social factor to determine the inclusive growth and social development of a region. Healthcare facilities have a direct impact on the labor productivity, as healthy labor is more effective at work. Advanced & affordable healthcare facilities not only attract talented workforce but also forms a big market opportunity [...]]]>

Healthcare is a very important social factor to determine the inclusive growth and social development of a region. Healthcare facilities have a direct impact on the labor productivity, as healthy labor is more effective at work. Advanced & affordable healthcare facilities not only attract talented workforce but also forms a big market opportunity of medical tourism. India is currently facing big challenges of affordability and accessibility in providing healthcare services to its huge population.

• Gujarat and Maharashtra being one of the most developed states in India are lagging behind government healthcare services with average population served by a government doctor is more than 24000.
• Goa and Delhi being small states have performed much better in building pubic healthcare infrastructure where average population served by each government doctors is less than 2000 & 4000 respectively.
• Talking about the availability of health services in rural areas, six states in India including Bihar, Assam, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan have less than 70% villages, which have health centers. It bounds the rural people to travel long distances to come to urban areas for treatment and many a times their travelling cost is more than cost of treatment itself.
• None of the state except Kerala has more than 90% of the villages which have health centers. There is urgent requirement from the state governments to increase their revenue expenditure on health services and hire more healthcare personnel.

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Telecom Infrastructure is very important ingredient for economic growth of a country or state. It is a big supporting factor for the industry to grow and prosper. Without proper communication facilities no growth and prosperity can be imagined. High tele- density gives more opportunity for [...]]]>

Telecom Infrastructure is very important ingredient for economic growth of a country or state. It is a big supporting factor for the industry to grow and prosper. Without proper communication facilities no growth and prosperity can be imagined. High tele- density gives more opportunity for people to communicate which is the primary need of development.

• The highest growth of Delhi at around 11.8% is clearly attributed to highest tele density of more than 200%. It also helps Delhi to become most information literate State of the country.
• The lowest tele-density is found in the Jammu & Kashmir, which is less than 9%, and it is one of the primary factors for low growth of the state. The states with low telephony to all.
• The states with high tele-density need to invest and develop advanced communications infrastructure to provide high speed broadband services to industry, internet services in all villages to support their future growth.
• Chhattisgarh due to its richness in natural resources had witnessed a high GDP growth rate of more than 9% in the past five years. But the growth is inclusive considering the very low tele-density of 6%. The state needs to promote investment from the telecom companies to set- up their telecom infrastructure and offer lower call rates to increase the penetration.

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Porter Prize is finally getting organized on September 28, 2012 in New Delhi. The objective of the Porter Prize is to raise the level of Indian companies at the International level in the field of Strategy and Competitiveness by awarding the best Indian companies [...]]]> Only the best Company in India will receive the Porter Prize

Porter Prize is finally getting organized on September 28, 2012 in New Delhi. The objective of the Porter Prize is to raise the level of Indian companies at the International level in the field of Strategy and Competitiveness by awarding the best Indian companies based on their strategy and related parameters. The application process has already commenced wherein all the participating companies will obtain certain benefits.

Porter Prize is named after the renowned philosopher, thinker, Harvard faculty member and Father of the modern strategic field Professor Michael E. Porter. He is a leading authority on competitive strategy, the competitiveness and economic development of nations, states and regions, and the application of competitive principles to social problems such as health care, the environment, and corporate responsibility. Professor Porter has been identified in a variety of rankings and surveys as the world’s most influential thinker on management and competitiveness. He is the Bishop William Lawrence University Professor at Harvard University, based at Harvard Business School. A University Professorship is the highest professional recognition that can be given to a Harvard faculty member.

The first if it’s kind India’s ‘Porter Prize’ constituted by Institute for Competitiveness (India), the Indian knot in the global network of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School aims to recognize the Indian companies who embraced the best strategic management.

Porter Prize is founded on four pillars capitalizing on industry dynamics, segmenting strategically, leveraging unique activities and exploiting tradeoffs. It also holds huge significance for the companies operating in India, as it has been said that Porter Prize will enlighten executives by making them understand their company in industrial setting, the process of value creation, the attractive and unattractive features of their industry, etc. In other words, Porter Prize will not only assess and award the best companies but will also assist the participating companies to get a deeper hold on their strategy and methods to further enhance it.

It is an opportunity for the companies operating in India to test themselves on the basis of their strategy and receive the prestigious Porter Prize award. There are 14 industry-based classifications, namely:

• Finance, banking & insurance
• Food & beverage
• Healthcare, Pharmaceutical & Social Assistance
• Information, Media, Telecom & Data Processing
• Education, Training & Educational Services
• Retail & wholesale
• Utilities, Electricity, Gas, Water & Power
• Arts, Entertainment & Recreation
• Construction, Real Estate & Steel
• Petroleum, Chemicals & Plastics
• Transportation, Logistics & Aviation
• Textiles & Apparels
• Computers & Electrical Appliances
• Tourism & Hospitality

In addition, five awards that will be given to the winners are:

• Porter Prize for Industry Architectural Shift
• Porter Prize for Creating Distinctive Value
• Porter Prize for Leveraging Unique Activities
• Porter Prize for Exploiting Trade-offs
• Porter Prize for Creating Shared Value

The companies who are willing to be a part of the award can apply online by filling an application form. The application process has already started and is divided into three stages, (i) Make an online application (ii) Strategy Audit, Interactions with CEO’s team and (iii) Jury Discussions & Porter Prize. Further details can be collected from the site www.porterprize.in/applications/how-to-apply.

Interestingly, the benefits are not just limited to the winner companies and will be obtained by all the participating companies by receiving certain key takeaways such as a benchmarking report for their company, opportunity to attend the CEO roundtable and Porter Prize event, coffee table book etc.

The award has drawn the attention of many organizations and till now many prestigious organizations have become a part of it. Few of them are Indian Public Diplomacy, FSG, Mint, exchange4media, Outlook, Outlook Business, Canon, Hammurabi & Solomon, The Viewspaper etc.

About Institute for Competitiveness

Institute for Competitiveness, India is the Indian knot in the global network of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School. It is an international initiative centered in India, dedicated to enlarging and purposeful disseminating of the body of research and knowledge on competition and strategy, as pioneered over the last 25 years by Professor Michael Porter of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School. The institute studies competition and its implications for company strategy; the competitiveness of nations, regions & cities and thus generate guidelines for businesses and those in governance; and suggests and provides solutions for socio-economic problems.

Press Release

What could be the reasons [...]]]> It does not require much thought to see that the airline industry in India is in a shambles. Whatever be the parameter—be it chronic underperformance of airline companies, poor customer service and unions that consider collusive action a matter of right—the sector is in decline.

What could be the reasons for this poor performance? Is it the government to be blamed, the airline companies, the unions or the customers who are seeking too much? Each stakeholder reflects or has a share in the mess (except the customers) the airline industry is facing. The government interferes by defining taxation on aviation fuel, subsidizing Air India and its rather unhappy level of service, with airline companies by taking actions that are leading to strategy convergence, with unions that are averse to the idea of their performance being gauged or evaluated and with the customer who expects timely service, non-cancellation of flights and “reasonable” prices. The airline industry has lessons on what not to do as a regulator, as a competing company and as a union.

So what is wrong? Is it that we have a collection of poorly managed companies, idiosyncratic policies or illogical unions?

Performance or profitability of an airline is clearly dependent on utilization of assets (aircraft). In the end, this boils down to passenger load factor (that defines per flight performance) and the number of hours the plane is kept in the air (spreading fixed costs over larger number of flights); asset inflexibility as the equipment (aircraft) can be used to carry passengers or cargo; perishability of the airline seat that is left unoccupied; management of costs across the value chain of the enterprise especially cost of operations i.e., fuel, labour, on ground expenses and reservations; regulatory landscape that is defined by the government; how the enterprise is run; and the management of labour relations across the board in the company—pilots, cabin crew, engineers and ground staff. This factor is particularly important as employees today have the ability to arm-twist airlines to their will. Airlines have to bend to keep operations running.

There are tasks cut out for everyone here. For the airline companies it is clear they need to find ways to increase asset utilization and, of late, they have not been able to perform this function efficiently in a landscape as competitive as the one that prevails in India. The big mistake that airlines have made is that of mergers between two entities that have different realities. For example, consider Kingfisher. The positioning and operational strategy for Kingfisher was that of a full-service airline for Air Deccan—with which it merged—it was that of a low-cost carrier). This did not present any clear synergies across the value chain. This is a mistake that most airlines made, leading to negative positioning effects. These companies, incidentally, started suffering from managerial obsession for growth. This obsession led to blurred positioning, reduction in fit and deterioration of competitive advantages. The one company that was not afflicted with this bug—IndiGo—has performed well and has grown over the past years.

What needs to be done urgently is to restore the demand-supply balance at price levels that customers are willing to pay. Price wars are not the way forward; instead it is important to instil the realization that while the market is expanding, the demand for airline seats has to be price-elastic. There is simply no way that this factor can be bypassed. It is noteworthy that low-cost airlines transformed the industry while expanding the market at a scorching pace.

This correction has to be a collective responsibility with government taking a lead in reduction of taxes on aviation fuel. The sovereign also has to ensure that it does not undermine industry structure by supporting a largely defunct company such as Air India which is on tenterhooks of the child-like union of pilots.

The article was published in Mint in the issue dated June 1, 2012. Download PDF

At present India possesses a significant demographic dividend. In this article we focus on dependence ratios and demographic shifts that can be expected in various Indian states till 2026. Following this we turn to the change in dependence ratios i.e., both the child dependence ratios as well as aged dependence ratios [...]]]>

At present India possesses a significant demographic dividend. In this article we focus on dependence ratios and demographic shifts that can be expected in various Indian states till 2026. Following this we turn to the change in dependence ratios i.e., both the child dependence ratios as well as aged dependence ratios and their impact on the overall growth story of India. Lastly, we do a broad level categorization and turn to the governance policies that need to be formulated to ensure that the demographic dividend that India possesses at present does not turn into a demographic disaster.

A dependent in demographic terms is defined as a person who is either a child (0-14 years age bracket) or an elderly (65 and above age bracket). Dependence ratios are tools to understand the ratio of dependents in a population to the working age population. A higher dependence ratio means there is an additional burden on the working age population to cater to the needs of these dependents. The child dependence ratios (Defined as 100 * number of children from 0-14 Age group / number of people in age group 14-65 age group) tell us the ratio of children in the population to the working age population. At present most of the Indian states have a high child dependence ratio. This is a significant burden at present but will be a dividend in the near future (if proper policies are made) when these children enter the working age population.

The aged dependence ratio (Defined as 100* number of old from 65 and above Age group / number of people in age group 14-65 age group) simply put is the ratio of elderly people in the population to the working age population. At present most Indian states have a low aged dependence ratio. With rise in life expectancy and better healthcare facilities aged dependence ratios for India will rise. A demographic dividend opportunity presents itself when these relatively high number of child dependents enter the working age population and are suitably employed. Some countries take a great advantage of this opportunity to unleash a huge growth trajectory. According to one estimate one third of growth in the “East Asia Miracles” came from demographic dividends. (Bloom, D. and J. Williamson. 1998. “Demographic Transitions and Economic Miracles in Emerging Asia.” World   Bank Economic Review 12: 419–456.)

Digging below the surface of the Indian demographic transition reveals a very interesting picture. The age pyramid is a powerful tool to understand the age distribution of a population in any economy. A near perfect pyramid as shown in figure 1 with the widest base shows that there are a very large number of children in the population. However in India’s case the maximum number of people (both men and women) is in the age bracket from 10-25 years. Thus we can easily interpret a decline in the birth rates that have caused population in the age bracket 10-24 years to be the largest. With time these people are going to enter the labour force (Some of them already have – people in the age bracket 15-25 years).  And the population pyramid would subsequently look like the ones shown in figures 2,3 and 4.

Roughly the outward buldge will start to move up the pyramid as more and more people enter the labour force population bracket (15-64 years). Subsequently larger age bracket populations will shift from the 50-65 brackets to the 65 and above bracket. This will cause aged dependence ratios to rise.

Policy Prescription

Younger Northern States (Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand)

• Provide proper food and nutrition to the young.
• Provide education facilities and improve the overall education infrastructure in their regions. For this huge investment will have to be made in education at the primary, secondary and university level.
• Provide skill-based education to people who are in the working age population.
• Provide jobs to people who are moving to the working age population.
• Provide incentives for people who want to become entrepreneurs. Incentives could range from setting up more institutes for entrepreneurship learning, to setting aside venture funds for entrepreneurs to unleash growth in the economy.

Aging southern states (Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh)

• Improve the overall health infrastructure (for people moving into the old age bracket).
• Find unique models for healthcare delivery to people in these states.
• Increase the working age from 65 to 70-75 years.

The article was published in Governance Now in the issue dated May 16-31, 2012. Download PDF