According to the World Economic Forum 2017 Global Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, what overall rank did India achieve in the world travel and tourism competitiveness index?

Introduction / Context:
The World Economic Forum releases the Global Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report to compare how well different countries support travel and tourism. The question checks whether you remember the specific rank that India achieved in the 2017 edition of this index. Such questions are very common in banking, SSC, and civil services exams because they test both current affairs awareness and understanding of India's position in global indexes.

Given Data / Assumptions:

- The index is the Global Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 published by the World Economic Forum. - The question is asking for India's overall rank in that particular year. - The options give you four possible ranks: 40th, 52nd, 12th, and 6th.

Concept / Approach:
To answer this question, you need to recall factual information from the 2017 report. India had been improving its travel and tourism competitiveness over earlier years, but it still was not in the top ten or top twenty. So, the realistic rank had to be in the middle range compared to advanced economies and traditional tourist giants. Eliminating obviously unrealistic ranks and remembering that India moved closer to the top forty in 2017 helps you arrive at the correct option.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that before 2017, India was ranked in the fifties range in the same index. Step 2: By 2017, India improved its position significantly due to better air connectivity, improved infrastructure, and increased tourism marketing. Step 3: India did not jump to a very high rank such as 12th or 6th, because that would place it ahead of long established tourism destinations like Spain or France. Step 4: Among the given options, 40th correctly reflects this improvement without exceeding realistic expectations. Step 5: Therefore, the correct rank to choose is 40th.

Verification / Alternative check:
You can verify this answer from official summaries of the Global Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017, government press releases on tourism, or reliable news portals that reported India's movement up the index. All such sources confirm that India was ranked 40th worldwide in 2017 in this WEF index. Once confirmed, this fact can be used confidently in many different competitive exams and interviews.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
- 52nd: This rank is closer to India's earlier position in older editions and does not reflect the improvement recorded in 2017. - 12th: A rank of 12th would place India very close to top tourism economies, which is not supported by the report. - 6th: This is clearly unrealistic for 2017, because the top ten were dominated by long established, high income tourist destinations.

Common Pitfalls:
Students often confuse different global indexes such as the Global Competitiveness Index, Human Development Index, and the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, or they mix up ranks from different years. Another common mistake is marking 52nd because it sounds familiar from older data. Always pay attention to the year mentioned in the question and relate it to the correct edition of the report.

Final Answer:
The overall rank achieved by India in the World Economic Forum Global Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 was 40th, so option 40th is correct.