That is a tough question for me to answer, partly because I don't follow any world news... but my impression so far is that China is leaps and bounds ahead of I

That is a tough question for me to answer, partly because I don't follow any world news... but my impression so far is that China is leaps and bounds ahead of India in terms of economic competitiveness. China has realized the potential of extremely cheap labor, and is fast becoming a black hole, that sucks in raw materials from around the world, and exchanges them for a lot of foreign currency, especially American dollars. India, on the other hand tends to be skewed towards leveraging its technical prowess, though attempting to do what China does (in terms of manufacturing) would definitely be a step in the right direction. I think India has the potential to create great products at great prices, that can help both raise the standard of living in the country, and bring in foreign exchange. Looking at what the Reliance (and Ispat) group have done in the last 3 decades is a strong reminder of this fact. Over the last decade, India has done some good things, like open up its economy to international companies, which has had both a good and bad effect for the economy itself. On one side, more jobs are created, and the lowest common denominator becomes even lower, but on the other hand, without strict policies, large multinationals have the ability to kill the mom-and-pop businesses (of which there are lot, including the cottage industry within India). I dont know if this answered your question... Let me know.