India’s economic freedom score is 54.6, making its economy the 123rd freest in the 2012 Index of Economic Freedom, after Pakistan which ranked 122.
Countries are ranked based on measures including rule of law, how open their markets are, regulatory efficiency and size of government.
“India’s score is unchanged from last year, with an improvement in labor freedom offset by declining scores in five other areas including business freedom, freedom from corruption, government spending, and monetary freedom,” the Heritage Foundation said.
India is ranked 25th out of 41 countries in the Asia–Pacific region, and its overall score is below the world average.
The reasons, it said, are that the foundations for long-term economic development remain fragile in the absence of an efficiently functioning legal framework, despite a high economic growth.