India Climbs to 39th in Global Innovation Index 2024: A Testament to Its Rapid Innovation Growth

Introduction

• The Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024 provides both a snapshot and a view of the future and how the conditions are in the innovative world as it measures the innovation capability of 133 countries.
• Innovation is now emerging as one of the significant sources of growth and competitiveness and thus, the GII acts a useful tool for policy makers, existing and potential business players as well as other stakeholders desiring to optimally boost on their competitiveness.
• Indias increase from the 81st rank in the GII 2015 to the 39th rank of GII 2024 is perhaps one of the most inspiring success stories of the report.
• This advancement showcases India’s pursuit of developing a strong innovation clusters, due to a flows of liberalization policies led, rising focus on research and development and booming startup culture.
• The advances towards becoming an innovative country are possible through schemes like Start-Up India, Digital India, and Atal Innovation Mission in the country.
• The focus has been placed on entrepreneurship, technology, and sustainable growth, and in addition to occupying a strong place in rankings of innovative economies, India has also cemented itself as a leader of emerging technology industries.

Understanding the Global Innovation Index (GII)

• Established in 2007 through joint effort of INSEAD, one of the world’s largest and highest ranked business schools, and World Business, GII has grown to become important tool for measuring innovation-readiness of nations.
• It is computed using indicators including research and development, technological innovation, information technology infrastructure, Telephone and Post, PC and Internet, Communication and IT heritage, Knowledge Worker, ICT usage, Technology index, Innovation index, and Creative index.
• High performers on the GII score highly on intellectual property, regulations, technological resources, and public-private network collaboration.
• GI Index 2024 shows increased importance of emerging markets as such countries as India, China, Turkey, and Vietnam are recognized as the world’s innovation powerhouses.
• India’s fast climb in the index shows that it is ripe for becoming a major force in the global innovation scene.

India’s Performance in GII 2024: Key Highlights

• The increase of 16 places in the ranking of the Global Innovation Index, reaching 39th place, is a great result that indicates increasing India’s role in the international innovation system.
• Let’s take a closer look at some key highlights of India’s performance:
  • Regional Leadership: India is the leading economy among the 10 countries in the Central and Southern Asia contributing region.
  • Innovation Outputs: India stands at 33rd in innovation outputs; it has strengthened its positions in terms of technological progress, patents, research outcomes.
  • Strength in Intellectual Property: WIPO’s ranked Science & Technology (S&T) Cluster Ranking is 4th for India, and some important cities are Bangalore, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Chennai considered among the best S&T clusters globally.
  • Intangible Asset Intensity: Thus, the country’s ranking of the intangible asset intensity at 7th place among the world’s nations underscores its importance for the knowledge-based assets such as IP and related tangible resources for product design and branding.

Factors Driving India’s Innovation Growth

• India’s rise in the Global Innovation Index is not a fluke. Several critical factors have contributed to this upward trajectory:
  • Government Initiatives: The Indian government has introduced the policies namely Start-Up India, Digital India and the establishment of the Atal Innovation Mission. Till September 2024, the Indian Government has acknowledged a total of 149,414 entities as startup that reflects the vibrant startup scene in the country.
  • Increased Investment in R&D: India’s investment in Research & Development has gone up and this has strengthened its innovation power. In addition, continued improvement of the protection of intellectual property rights has ensured that the business and economic sectors enhance on their innovation.
  • Collaboration Between Sectors: There has been improvement of relations between academic institutions, industrial players and government in India, resulting to the development of innovations. This ecosystem approach has helped in sharing the knowledge and develop new best practices for technologies.
  • Startup Ecosystem: India has emerged as one of the most active startup hubs around the globe. Through investment in technology clusters, and encouraging incubators, India is fostering startup companies capable of going international, which contributes to the country’s scores in the GII.

Emerging Global and Regional Trends in GII 2024

• The Global Innovation Index 2024 not only evaluates the performance of countries but also highlights several key trends shaping the global innovation landscape:
  • Sustainable Innovation: Sustainability is a driving force for modern innovation, nations are turning green, putting their money into innovations in the field of sustainability and renewable energy. The developed countries such as Sweden and Switzerland are among the top countries embracing sustainability innovations.
  • Digital Transformation: The emergence of digital technologies including artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data is happening across industries globally. Today’s advanced countries such as South Korea, Singapore, and the United States are pioneers of digital change while India’s Digital India mission is helping its people and industries go digital.
  • Emerging Economies on the Rise: India is not alone with emerging economies such as China, Turkey, Vietnam, and the Philippines are also quickly scaling-up the ladder indicative of innovative emerging economies.
  • Focus on Intangible Assets: The value of intellectual property, branding and design is continuously rising, and firms and countries are investing in these intangible assets. The results of cross- country comparisons of firms’ intangible asset portfolios showed that asset-rich countries are performing well in terms of knowledge generation and innovation.

Science & Technology (S&T) Clusters: India’s Growing Strength

• The WIPO Science & Technology (S&T) Clusters Ranking indicates the cities which are most innovative.
• Indian cities Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai are featured in the list of top 100 innovation clusters proving the country’s strides in the development of Science and technology.
• These cities are the core regions of Indian innovation hub, with student and talent attraction, investment, and enterprise to support and promote state-of-the-art innovations in IT, pharmaceutical and bio-technology industries.

Conclusion

The improvement of India’s rank in the Global Innovation Index 2024 has been an indication of government focused towards the innovation as essential factor to enhance the economy. More focus in R&D, excellent governmental policies, and a rising number of start-ups make India a potential player in the world innovation map.

With a huge progress in the digitalization, sustainability, and the global development of intellectual property, India has the opportunity to adapt and build on new technologies and increased its impact within the world tech market.

The rankings featured in the Global Innovation Index 2024 not only explain India’s successes but also emphasize the role of such specific investments as innovation to enhance long-term economic and social development.

FAQS

1. What is the Global Innovation Index (GII)?
Ans: The Global Innovation Index is an annual ranking that evaluates the innovation capabilities of 133 economies based on factors such as R&D, infrastructure, market sophistication, and knowledge outputs.

2. Where does India rank in the GII 2024?
Ans: India ranks 39th in the Global Innovation Index 2024, a significant leap from 81st in 2015.

3. What are the key factors driving India’s innovation growth?
Ans: Key factors include government initiatives like Start-Up India and Digital India, increased investment in R&D, and strong collaboration between academia, industry, and government.

4. What is India’s position in Science & Technology Clusters?
Ans: India ranks 4th in the WIPO Science & Technology Cluster Ranking, with cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai recognized among the world’s top 100 S&T clusters.