New Delhi, Feb. 24 -- After topping Mint's Emerging Markets Tracker in December, India slipped to the fifth place in January as a weak rupee and sluggish exports weighed on its ranking. The stock market's underperformance added to the drag. This decline came despite India outpacing most emerging-market peers in GDP growth, the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), and inflation.

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China emerged as the top performer, leading in GDP growth, export growth, inflation, and import cover-factors that more than offset its weak currency and stock market performance.

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