About the Index

• Global Innovation Index (GII) is co-published annually by Cornell University, INSEAD Business School, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized agency of the United Nations.
• GII ranks global economies according to their innovation capabilities, using roughly 80 indicators, grouped into innovation inputs and outputs.
• The metrics include institutions, human capital and research, infrastructure, market sophistication and business sophistication, knowledge and technology outputs and creative outputs.
• Over the years, the GII has established itself as a policy tool for various governments and helped them to reflect upon the existing status quo.

Global Innovation Index 2021 

• The Global Innovation Index 2021 was released recently.

Highlights of the Index 

• India has climbed two spots and has been ranked 46th in the Global Innovation Index 2021 rankings (48 in GII 2020).
• India has been on a rising trajectory over the past several years in the GII and rose from a rank of 81 in 2015 to 46 in 2021.
• India ranks second among 34 lower middle-income group economies and first among the 10 economies in Central and Southern Asia.
• The consistent improvement in the GII ranking is owing to the immense knowledge capital, the vibrant startup ecosystem and the work done by the public and the private research organisations.
• The Scientific Departments like the Department of Atomic Energy; the Department of Science and Technology; the Department of Biotechnology and the Department of Space have played a pivotal role in enriching the National Innovation Ecosystem.
• 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. 

Why in News?

• The Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has called upon stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem to strive to take India to the top 25 in the Global Innovation Index.  
• India’s startups are the key reason behind the country’s rise in Global Innovation Index from 76 in 2014 to 46 in 2021.

Reference:

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1788900