India climbs 2 spots to 46th rank in Global Innovation Index 2021 rankings

Global Innovation Index (GII) 2021 report prepared by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has ranked India 46th this year. The GII 2021 is an annual ranking of countries prepared by their capacity for, and success in, innovation. This was only possible as Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sustained a push for R&D and enabled a favourable ecosystem for startups to pave their path towards innovation.

The GII report is published by WIPO in partnership with the Portulans Institute, with the support of corporate network partners, such as the Confederation of Indian Industry, Brazilian National Confederation of Industry, Ecopetrol Group (Colombia), and the Turkish Exporters Assembly.

India moves ahead by two spots

India has climbed two spots to 46 in the GII report. The country’s rank has been consistently rising in the last few years. From 81 in 2015, it has moved to 46 in 2021.

The GII report added, “India (at 46) moves further ahead, by two spots (48 in GII 2020), after making it into the top 50 last year. It takes second place in the lower-middle-income group. India held the third position in its income group in 2019 and 2020, having entered the top three in 2019,” the GII report said.

The GII report added that India has been successful in developing sophisticated services that are technologically dynamic and can be traded internationally. India continues to lead the world in the information and communication technology services exports indicator (1) and holds top ranks in other indicators, such as domestic industry diversification (12) and graduates in science and engineering (12). 

Centre says consistent improvement helps in pushing GII rankings 

The Centre in an official statement declared that the consistent improvement in the GII rankings was due to the immense knowledge capital, vibrant start-up ecosystem, and the amazing work done by public and private research organisations. “Scientific wings like the Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Biotechnology, and the Department of Space have played a pivotal role in enriching the national innovation ecosystem,” the statement said. It added that a constant thrust on monitoring and evaluating India’s position in the global rankings has been provided by the NITI Aayog.

(With inputs from PTI)

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