India Innovation Index 2019

• NITI Aayog with Institute for Competitiveness as the knowledge partner released the India Innovation Index (III) 2019.

India Innovation Index (III) 2019

• The index attempts to create an extensive framework for the continual evaluation of the innovation environment of 29 states and seven UTs in India.
• It intends to perform the following three functions-

1. Ranking of states and UTs based on their index scores
2. Recognizing opportunities and challenges, and
3. Assisting in tailoring governmental policies to foster innovation

• The India Innovation Index 2019 is calculated as the average of the scores of its two dimensions – Enablers and Performance.
• The states have been bifurcated into three categories: major states, north-east and hill states, and union territories / city states / small states.

Performance of states

• 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.

Significance

• The study examines the innovation ecosystem 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 policies.