New Delhi, July 18 -- Gujarat has emerged as the top-performing state in NITI Aayog's Investment Friendliness Index, followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, with the policy think tank positioning the index as a reform tool to help states improve their investment climate rather than merely a ranking exercise.

Speaking at the Investment Friendliness Index report launch, NITI Aayog CEO Nidhi Chhibber said the index is designed to enable states to benchmark their performance, identify priority areas for reform and learn from best practices adopted by other states.

States Key To Achieving Viksit Bharat CRISIL Chief Economist D.K. Joshi said India needs faster economic growth and a higher investment ratio to achieve the goal of Viksit Bharat,...