Up the GII.

 "India has entered the top 40 countries in the Global Innovation Index (GII) for the first time, owing to increases in information and communication technologies (ICT) services exports," as "The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said on Thursday (yesterday) that India's six-notch jump to 40th place in the 132 nation GII in 2022 from 46th place in 2021 elevated it to the topmost innovative lower middle-income country in the world, surpassing Vietnam." Vietnam has a population estimated at 10.4 million in 2022, with nominal GDP of $409 billion and GDP per capita of $4,122, wikipedia. India has a population of about 1400 million, nominal GDP of $3.5 trillion, wikipedia, while GDP per capita was $2,277 in 2021. World Bank. While beating tiny Vietnam is indeed laudable, Indian students would prefer to study and work abroad if at all possible. "While countries like Russia, China, and Australia are popular choices for technical courses among Indian students, a large number of them have also turned to universities in the US, the UK, and Canada for programs that will fetch them work permit for global technical jobs. According to Canada's Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship data, the number of students studying in the country has increased by a whopping 350 percent between 2015-16 and 2019-20 academic years." ET. The labor force participation rate (LFPR), which is defined as the section of working population in the age group of 16-64 in the economy currently employed or seeking employment, ET, was 73.4 for males, just 20.4 for females and 47.3 combined, while the worker population ration (WPR) was 67.7 for males, a dismal 18.3 for females  and 43.4 combined in the January-March 2022 period, pib.gov.in. Which means that more than half the population of India is not working. India's employment elasticity, which is the percentage change in employment associated with 1% change in GDP, peaked at 0.31 by 2002, plunged to a negative -0.04 in 2014 before recovering modestly. DH. "In fact, the average elasticity between 2006 and 2018 was a mere 0.01." "An attendant problem of this prolonged period of low to no employment generation is that currently, India has virtually the largest share of discouraged workers in the world." On the other hand, "Pay hikes on an average in India are likely to increase by 10.4% in 2023, compared to an actual increase of 10.6% to date in 2022, which is slightly higher than the 9.9% increase projected in February, according to a survey by Aon plc, a global professional services firm." ET. Not surprising, "Household spending trends ahead of India's main festive season are flashing warning signs of a widening chasm in demand recovery as inflation hovers around 7% and unemployment keeps on rising. Consumer-goods makers are reporting robust demand for items priced nearly $2,000 in a nation where per capita income is just a tad above that level, while industry data on sales of budget phones priced below $100 and motorcycles, an indicator of rural demand, are showing a weaker trend." ET. Most have-nots, a few have-lots. Perhaps those in GII.