Gujarat tops in economic freedom index

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat has been ranked first in the economic freedom index in a study conducted by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.The state is followed by Andhra Pradesh,Chhattisgarh,Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
The foundation, headed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, has mentioned in its report that Gujarat was one of the most peaceful states in the country.The report - prepared after a nation-wide study by eminent economists - also suggests that Gujarat has a very low level of economic crime and is an indicator of better protection of property rights.
Apart from low incidence of corruption, the foundation also found that speed of police investigations and trials was the best in Gujarat and the ratio of total value of property recovered to total value of property stolen was high in the state.
The study, the first of its kind in the country, was conducted by economists of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies, considered the thinktank of the foundation. It was modelled on the world economic freedom index study done by economists of Canada''s Fraser Institute.