India becomes world's 7th most valued 'nation brand'

An increase of 32 per cent in India's brand value to $2.1 billion has led the country one position up to become the world's seventh most valued 'nation brand', as per the annual report on world's most valuable nation brands compiled by Brand Finance.

The US remains on the top with a valuation of $19.7 billion, followed by China and Germany at the second and the third positions respectively. The UK is ranked 4th, Japan is at fifth position and France is sixth on the list. While India and France have moved up one position each since last year, all the top-five countries have retained their respective places.

However, the surge of 32 per cent in India's 'nation brand value' is the highest among all the top-20 countries on the list.

Brand Finance said it measures the strength and value of the nation brands of 100 leading countries using a method based on the royalty relief mechanism employed to value the world's largest companies. The nation brand valuation is based on five year forecasts of sales of all brands in each nation and follows a complex process. The Gross domestic product (GDP) is used as a proxy for total revenues.

The report also said that India's 'Incredible India' slogan has worked well, while Germany suffered due to the Volkswagen crisis. About the US, the report said it remains a powerful brand with an inviting business climate.

Among BRICS nations, India is the only country to have witnessed an increase in its brand value with all others - Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa - seeing a dip in their respective brand valuations.

India is the second most valued among these emerging economies after China, followed by Brazil, Russia and South Africa.

(Image credits: Economic Times)