India Innovation Index 2019 launched by NITI Aayog

New Delhi: NITI Aayog has released the third India Innovation Index 2019. Karnataka is the most innovative major state in India. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana, Haryana, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh form the remaining top ten major states respectively. The top ten major states are majorly concentrated in southern and western India. Sikkim and Delhi take the top spots among the north-eastern & hill states, and union territories, city-states, small states respectively. Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh are the most efficient states in translating inputs into output. India Innovation index 2019 has been prepared with Institute for Competitiveness as the knowledge partner.

Speaking on the occasion Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog expressed hope that "the India Innovation Index would create synergies between different stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem and India would shift to competitive good governance." Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog added that "India has a unique opportunity among its myriad challenges to become the innovation leader in the world." Renu Swarup, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology said, "cluster-based innovation should be leveraged upon as the focal point of competitiveness."

"The India Innovation Index would create synergies between different stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem and India would shift to competitive good governance"- Dr Rajeev Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog

The index attempts to create an extensive framework for the continual evaluation of the innovation environment of 29 states and seven union territories in India. The study is an outcome of extensive research and analysis, which looks holistically at the innovation landscape of India by examining the innovation capabilities and performance of Indian states and union territories. The aim is to create a holistic tool which can be used by policymakers across the country to identify the challenges to be addressed and strengths to build on when designing the economic growth policies for their regions.

Measuring competitiveness across 29 states, 7 UTs

The states have been bifurcated into three categories: major states, north-east, and hill states, and union territories/city-states/small states.

The India Innovation Index 2019 is calculated as the average of the scores of its two dimensions – Enablers and Performance. The Enablers are the factors that underpin innovative capacities, grouped in five pillars: (1) Human Capital, (2) Investment, (3) Knowledge Workers, (4) Business Environment, and (5) Safety and Legal Environment. The Performance dimension captures benefits that a nation derives from the inputs, divided in two pillars: (6) Knowledge Output and (7) Knowledge Diffusion.

The index presents the latest findings and highlights the regional catalysts and caveats for promoting innovation readiness. The Report offers a comprehensive snapshot of the innovation ecosystem of 29 states and seven union territories. It also includes a section on state profiles covering 33 indicators looking at the different facets of innovation in India.

Innovation strong in South and West

The index shows that the innovation ecosystem of the country is strong in south and western parts of India. In fact, three of the top five major states are from southern India. Delhi and Haryana seem to be an exception to this rule and seem to be doing well on the Index. Thus, there seems to be a west-south and north-east divide across the country.

May Click Here to Download the full report.