Preface

India’s vision of becoming a $5-trillion economy is intricately linked with an innovation-oriented approach to economic growth. In this present crisis-hit world, while most countries are looking inward, India should use this opportunity to build its innovative capabilities to meet future global demands by producing a range of novel products, services, and processes.

Historically, economic crises often tend to curb the innovative tendencies of a nation. For instance, post the Great Depression, the United States of America witnessed a fall in the number of both individual and firm-based patents, which took decades to recover.

However, in the present scenario, India could avoid such an outcome as the nation is fully prepared to usher in a new era of innovation and development. Driven by ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make in India’ initiatives, there is a strong push to empower the local manufacturing sectors that would, in turn, contribute to the production of innovative products at economical rates. Along with improving the scale of production, India has also aimed at enhancing its research capacities by introducing the new Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy 2020. These measures will play a crucial role in enabling the innovative capacity of the country.

The India Innovation Index is a reliable benchmark that will highlight the impact of the above measures at a sub-national level. The first edition of the index has managed to guide and support policymakers in improving local innovation ecosystems. India breaking into the top 50 nations of the Global Innovation Index 2020, with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) declaring India as one of the leading innovation achievers of 2019-20 in the central and southern Asian region.

It is expected that the second iteration of the index will help in providing detailed insights into and a vivid picture of the innovation ecosystem at both the national and sub-national levels. This would support in transforming India into an innovation-driven economy, thereby cementing its position as an emerging global leader.