The government think tank NITI Aayog will release the third edition of the India Innovation Index on Thursday. The index has been compiled after evaluating the innovation performance of all the states and Union territories in India.
“The states and the union territories have been divided into 17 ‘Major States’, 10 ‘North-East and Hill States’, and 9 ‘Union Territories and City States’, for effectively comparing their performance,” NITI Aayog said in a statement on Wednesday. The India Innovation Index 2021 will be released by the Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog, Suman Bery, in the presence of V K Saraswat, Member, and Parameswaran Iyer, Chief Executive Officer, the statement said.
The release of the third edition of the index – the first and second editions were launched in October 2019 and January 2021, respectively – corroborates the government’s continuous commitment to transforming the nation into an innovation-driven economy. “The India Innovation Index 2021 is set against the backdrop of the pandemic, which has disrupted the global demographic landscape. Resilience and crisis-driven innovation have helped India bounce back, in these trying times,” it added.
A special section has also been introduced in the latest edition for showcasing the detailed analysis of the drivers of innovation, by evaluating the improvement in the indicators. The states can assess their position and the factors that led to a change in their ranking vis-a-vis that in the previous edition. “With the India Innovation Index, NITI Aayog has commenced a journey to develop a coherent tool for benchmarking the innovation ecosystem of the country’s states and union territories, thereby fostering both competitive and cooperative federalism amongst them,” the statement further said.
