The Heritage Foundation came up with its 2005 Index of Economic Freedom and India was ranked 118 in a list of 155 nations. India’s neighbours did not perform well either, except Sri Lanka which was ranked 79. The New Nation has an article analyzing the situation in South Asia regarding economic freedom.
The five nations from South Asia have not fared well in the IEF ranking with the exception of Sri Lanka. One reason for the poor showing of South Asian nations could be the governmental tweaking of the economy. The high tariff imposed on luxury goods by the South Asian nations is also another detriment to climb up the list. Another factor could be the high borrowing by these nations from IMF and World Bank to undertake many developmental projects, which helps the poor but not liked by the Heritage Foundation
