New Delhi, Dec 17 (IANS): Goa, which “shows strengths in the context of strategy and rivalry for businesses that operate in the region and also has strong supporting and related industries”, tops in the city state category of a competitiveness report released Wednesday.

Goa replaced Delhi “due the credit availability to businesses that have operated in the city-state”, said The India State Competitiveness Report 2014 of The Institute for Competitiveness, an international think tank.

The report categorizes the states under seven heads: city states, innovation driven economies, transition economies, investment driven economies, changeover economies, emerging economies and
northeastern economies.

Among innovative driven economies, Maharashtra has emerged as the most competitive state followed
closely by Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Among transition economies, Punjab leads the ranking followed by Himachal Pradesh. Karnataka takes top spot among investment-driven economies followed by Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. Among the changeover/evolving economies, Odisha is the most competitive followed by Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Uttar Pradesh takes top spot the emerging economies ranking followed closely by Bihar.

This year a new category of northeastern economies was introduced as it was strongly felt that these need to be studied as a regional grouping, the report says. Among these states Sikkim emerged as the most competitive.

The framework for assessing the states is based on the micro-economic diamond model laid down by acclaimed management guru Michael E. Porter.

“The core of the model is based on four pillars of competitiveness that are, factor conditions, demand conditions, context for strategy & rivalry and supporting & related industries. These four pillars are interlinked with one another and are instrumental in determining the overall competitiveness of an economy or any geographical location,” the report says.

Commenting on this year’s report, Amit Kapoor, honorary chairman, Institute for Competitiveness said: “The remedy to the growth conundrum of the India lies in the enhancement of the competitiveness quotient of the states, for they collectively comprise the whole nation.

“The focus of states and policy makers should be on wealth creation that is economically viable, environmentally friendly and at the same time addressing the concerns of all the communities involved. This is essential for making India globally competitive in all sectors of the economy,” Kapoor added.