INDIA INNOVATION INDEX REPORT BY NITI AAYOG
Recently, India Innovation Index Report 2021 was released by NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog in which Karnataka retained its top position in the major States category. This is the third edition of the Report, which highlights the scope of innovation analysis in the country by drawing on the framework of the Global Innovation Index. The number of indicators has increased from 36 (in the India Innovation Index 2020) to 66 (in the India Innovation Index 2021).
WHAT IS THE INDIA INNOVATION INDEX?
- It is a comprehensive tool for the evaluation and development of the country’s innovation ecosystem. It ranks the states and the union territories on their innovation performance to build healthy competition amongst them.
- Institutions Involved: NITI Aayog with the Institute for Competitiveness.
Indicators Used:
There are 7 pillars in the index - five ‘Enabler’ pillars measure the inputs and two ‘Performance’ pillars measure the output. The indicators that the survey uses includes the level and quality of education and parameters such as:
- Number of PhD students and knowledge-intensive employment.
- Enrolment in engineering and technology and number of highly skilled professionals.
- Investment in R&D and number of patents and trademark applications filed.
- Internet subscribers.
- FDI inflows, business environment and safety and legal environment.
WHAT ARE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE REPORT?
- Categories:
- The Innovation Index is divided into three categories—major states, Union Territories, and hill and North East states.
- Major States: Top States: Karnataka topped with a score of 18.05 followed by Telangana and Haryana. Karnataka’s success is attributed to its peak performance in attracting FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) and a large number of venture capital deals.
- Bottom States: Bihar, Odisha and Chhattisgarh scored the lowest on the index, which put them at the bottom in the “major States” category. Chhattisgarh ranked last with 10.97 points.
- Hill and North-East States: Manipur is leading the category followed by Uttarakhand and Meghalaya. Nagaland ranked last (10th).
- Union territories/Small States: Chandigarh is the top performer with a Score 27.88 followed by Delhi and Andaman and Nicobar. Ladakh Ranked last (9th).
RELATED: GLOBAL INNOVATION INDEX
Recently, India has climbed two spots and has been ranked 46th in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2021 rankings.
GLOBAL INNOVATION INDEX (GII) 2021:
Launch: The GII is launched by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized agency of the United Nations. The GII aims to capture the multi-dimensional facets of innovation ranking and rich analysis referencing around 132 economies.
Partnership: It is published in partnership with the Portulans Institute and other corporate partners: The Brazilian National Confederation of Industry (CNI), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Ecopetrol (Colombia) and the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM).
Indicators: The index ranks world economies according to their innovation capabilities and consists of roughly 80 indicators grouped into innovation inputs
GLOBAL PERFORMANCE IN THE INDEX
Top Five: Switzerland, Sweden, U.S., and U.K. continue to lead the innovation ranking, and have all ranked in the top 5 in the past three years. The Republic of Korea joins the top 5 of the GII for the first time in 2021.
Asian Countries: Four Asian economies feature in the top 15: Singapore (8), China (12), Japan (13) and Hong Kong, China (14).
India’s Performance: India has been on an upward trajectory over the past few years in the GII. India has shot up from a rank of 81 in 2015 to 46 in 2021. India performs better in innovation outputs than innovation inputs in 2021. This year India ranks 57th in innovation inputs, the same as last year as but higher than 2019. As for innovation outputs, India ranks 45th. This position is the same as last year but higher than 2019. India ranks 2nd among the 34 lower middle-income group economies. India ranks 1st among the 10 economies in Central and Southern Asia.
NEW CEO OF NITI AAYOG
NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant is set to leave and will be replaced by former Secretary of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation - Parameswaran Iyer.
NEW VC OF NITI AAYOG
The central government appointed economist Suman Bery as the vice-chairman of NITI Aayog after Rajiv Kumar resigned from the post on 22nd April 2022.
About Suman Bery
Overview: Kumar had been appointed as the vice-chairperson of NITI Aayog five years ago. The cabinet committee had accepted Rajiv Kumar’s resignation and appointed Suman Bery as NITI Aayog’s full-time member and later as the vice-chairperson. He will be taking up this post from 1st Amy 2022. Suman Bery was the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) director-general for a period of 10 years from 2001 to 2011.
From 2012 to mid-2016 he served as the Chief Economist of Shell International and also advised the management and the board of Royal Dutch Shell on global political and economic developments. Prior to joining NCAER, he was with the World Bank, Washington DC, having joined through the Young Professionals’ Program. At the World Bank, he worked on country policy and strategy, and financial sector development notably in the Caribbean and Latin America. His country experience included Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and Chile.
Special Consultant to the RBI Governor
Between 1992 to 1994 he was also appointed as a Special Consultant to the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.
WHAT IS NITI AAYOG?
Background: The Planning Commission was replaced by a new institution – NITI Aayog on 1st January, 2015 with emphasis on ‘Bottom –Up’ approach to envisage the vision of Maximum Governance, Minimum Government, echoing the spirit of ‘Cooperative Federalism’. It has two Hubs. Team India Hub acts as an interface between States and Centre. Knowledge and Innovation Hub builds the think-tank acumen of NITI Aayog.
Composition:
- Chairperson: Prime minister
- Vice-Chairperson: To be appointed by Prime-Minister
- Governing Council: Chief Ministers of all states and Lt. Governors of Union Territories.
- Regional Council: To address specific regional issues, Comprising Chief Minister and Lt. Governors Chaired by the Prime Minister or his nominee.
- Ad-hoc Membership: Two members in ex-officio capacity from leading Research institutions on a rotational.
- Ex-Officio membership: Maximum four from the Union council of ministers to be nominated by the Prime Minister.
- Chief Executive Officer: Appointed by the Prime-minister for a fixed tenure, in the rank of Secretary to Government of India.
TEST YOURSELF
Q.1 Which of the following has topped the NITI Aayog's India Innovation Index in the category of Union territories/Small States?
- New Delhi
- Andaman & Nicobar Island
- Chandigarh: ANSWER
- None of the above-mentioned
Q.2 Examine the mentioned below options & state which of the following is/are correct in the reference to the India Innovation Index 2021?
- The Innovation Index is divided into three categories—major states, Union Territories, and hill and North East states: ANSWER
- The number of indicators has increased from 36 (in the India Innovation Index 2020) to 62 (in the India Innovation Index 2021).
- Bihar, Odisha and Karnataka scored the lowest on the index, which put them at the bottom in the “major States” category.
- None of the above mentioned
Q.3 Which of the following is correct regarding India's rank in the Global Innovation Index 2021 released by WIPO?
- 30th Rank
- 46th Rank: ANSWER
- 66th Rank
- None of the following
Q.4 Consider the given statements & state which of the following is/are incorrect in the context of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)?
- WIPO was created in 1967 "to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world".
- WIPO currently administers 26 international treaties.
- It is headquartered in Gland, Switzerland: ANSWER
- Every year World Intellectual Property Day is celebrated on 26th April.
Q.5 Consider the given options & state which of the following is not an initiative of the NITI AAYOG?
- Atal Innovation Mission
- Composite Water Management Index
- Aspirational District Programme
- None of the above-mentioned: ANSWER
