India climbs to 45th rank in Network Readiness Index 2025

India has improved its position by four slots and is now placed at 45th rank as per the Network Readiness Index 2025.

What is Network Readiness Index?

• The Network Readiness Index is one of the leading global indices on the application and impact of ICT in economies across the world. 

• Initially launched in 2002 by the World Economic Forum, the Network Readiness Index was redesigned in 2019 to reflect how technology and people need to be integrated within an effective governance structure in order to have the right impact on our economy, society and the environment. 

• In this latest edition, the Index maps the network readiness landscape of 127 economies on their performances across four pillars: Technology, People, Governance, and Impact, with each pillar comprised of three sub-pillars, and a further 53 indicators.

• It is published by Portulans Institute, an independent, non-profit research and educational institute based in Washington DC.

Highlights of the Index:

• For the fourth consecutive year, the United States leads the world in its access to, and use of, digital technologies, according to the Index 

• The US leads with notable performance across technology adoption and innovation metrics, particularly excelling in areas like AI scientific publications, public cloud computing market scale, and digital business transformation.

• Finland has overtaken Singapore for the second spot. Notable movers in the top ten include the South Korea’s drop from fifth to tenth place, and Denmark’s rise from tenth to fourth place. 

• Meanwhile, Sweden, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, United Kingdom, and Switzerland maintain their positions in the top ten most digitally-ready economies globally.

• The top 10 shows limited regional diversity, with Asia-Pacific represented only by Singapore and South Korea, and the Americas solely by the United States.The remaining top 10 positions underscore Europe’s dominance in global network readiness.

India leads in several indicators

• India has not only improved its ranking but has also improved its score from 53.63 in 2024 to 54.43 out of 100 in 2025.

• Its results are anchored in Technology (33rd) and People (34th), reflecting India’s scale and intensity of digital activity. 

• It is noteworthy that India leads in several indicators. The report states that India secured first rank in ‘Annual investment in telecommunication services’, ‘AI scientific publications’, ‘ICT services exports’ and ‘E-commerce legislation’, second rank in ‘FTTH/Building Internet subscriptions’, ‘Mobile broadband internet traffic within the country’ and ‘International Internet bandwidth’, and third rank in ‘Domestic market scale’ and ‘Income Inequality’.

• The report states that India has greater network readiness than would be expected given its income level. 

• India is ranked second in the group of lower-middle-income countries.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)