Network Readiness Index 2022

• 22 Nov 2022

Why in News?

India has improved its position by six slots and is now placed at 61^st rank as per the Network Readiness Index 2022 (NRI 2022) report released recently.

What is the Network Readiness Index 2022?

• About:
  • The Network Readiness Index (NRI) report maps the network readiness landscape of 131 economies based on their performance in four areas:
    • Technology, People, Governance, and Impact.
  • The report is prepared by the Portulans Institute, an independent non-profit, nonpartisan research and educational institute based in Washington DC.
  • This year’s index includes 49 high-income economies, 32 upper-middle-income economies, 36 lower-middle-income economies, and 14 low-income economies.
• Global Rankings:
  • US has taken the 1^st spot from the Netherlands (4^th) as the most network-ready society.
    • The biggest mover in the index is Singapore (2^nd), pushing Denmark (6^th) and Finland (7^th) out of the top 5.
    • The other five countries that made it to the Top 10 are - Sweden (3^rd), Switzerland (5^th), Germany (8^th), South Korea (9^th), and Norway (10^th).
  • Based on the top ten performers, NRI affirms that advanced economies in Europe, parts of Asia and the Pacific, and North America are some of the world’s most network-ready societies.
• India’s Status:
  • India has not only improved its ranking, but also improved its score from 49.74 in 2021 to 51.19 in 2022.
  • India leads in several indicators:
    • India secured 1^st rank in “AI talent concentration”.
    • 2^nd rank in “Mobile broadband internet traffic within the country” and “International Internet bandwidth”.
    • 3^rd rank in “Annual investment in telecommunication services” and “Domestic market size”
    • 4^th rank in “ICT Services exports”.
    • 5^th rank in “FTTH/Building Internet subscriptions” and “AI scientific publications”.
  • As per the report, India has a greater network readiness than would be expected given its income level.
    • India is ranked 3^rd out of 36 in the group of lower-middle-income countries after Ukraine and Indonesia.

What are India’s Related Initiatives?

• National Broadband Mission
• National Digital Communications Policy, 2018.
• BharatNet
• Government's Digital India programme
• National AI Portal

Source: PIB