The Global Innovation Index (GII) 2022 organized by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) revealed that India stepped up to the 40th position globally from a 46th standing in 2021 and 81st in 2015. The ranking underlines India’s steady progress in its innovation efforts, particularly in the fields of ICT services and startup financing.
Survey reports also indicated an increase in global R&D expenditure while Venture Capital (VC) growth experienced boom years akin to the late 1990s’ internet surge. This article explores the Global Innovation Index, WIPO, and India’s initiatives to foster innovation.
Highlights of the Global Innovation Index 2022
The GII 2022 report has Switzerland leading as the most innovative economy for the 12th consecutive year. The United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands follow, with China nearing the top 10, and Türkiye and India entering the top 40 for the first time.
The report pegs India as the innovation frontrunner in the lower middle-income group, leading the world in ICT services exports and holding high ranks in venture capital receipt value, financial support for startups and scale-ups, graduates in science and engineering, labor productivity growth, and domestic industry diversification.
R&D Expenditure and VC Growth
Global corporate R&D spenders ramped up their investments by almost 10% to over USD 900 billion in 2021, a sizeable leap from the pre-pandemic figures in 2019. Notably, Venture Capital (VC) growth soared by 46% in 2021, paralleling the impressive records during the internet boom years of the late 1990s. The regions of Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa are witnessing the strongest VC growth.
About the Global Innovation Index
Published annually, The Global Innovation Index is a leading resource for evaluating an economy’s innovation performance. It has been recognized by the UN Economic and Social Council in its 2019 resolution on Science, Technology, and Innovation for Development as a respected benchmark for gauging innovation concerning the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Global Innovation Index Indicators
The index considers several parameters, including institutions, human capital and research, infrastructure, market sophistication, business sophistication, knowledge and technology outputs, and creative outputs.
The theme for the Global Innovation Index 2022 is “What is the future of innovation-driven growth?”. It also outlines two innovative waves’ positive effects, namely, a digital age innovation wave and a Deep Science innovation wave.
About World Intellectual Property Organisation
WIPO is the global forum for intellectual property (IP) services, policy, information, and cooperation. A self-funding agency of the United Nations with 193 member states, its aim is to develop a balanced and effective international IP system that enables innovation and creativity for everyone’s benefit.
India’s Initiatives to Foster Innovation
India launched the ‘Digital India’ initiative in 2015 with a target of a trillion-dollar digital economy in the next few years. Digital technologies are used in various areas including mapping capital assets using GIS technology and revolutionizing payments through Unified Payments Interface (UPI). In fact, 40% of global real-time digital transactions happened in India in 2021.
Furthermore, the introduction of the National Education Policy aims to bolster innovation by setting up incubation & technology development centers. Over 9000 Atal Tinkering Labs encourage young minds to develop solutions to societal problems.
Also, India has embraced structural reforms to bolster its Intellectual property rights (IPR) regime, including modernizing IP offices, reducing legal compliances, and facilitating IP filing for start-ups, women entrepreneurs, the small industries, and others. Remarkably, domestic filing of patents registered a 46% growth in the past five years.
