Global Innovation Index, GII- 2018 launched in India
NITI Aayog to join hands with CII to develop a Roadmap for Top 10 Rank in GII
India ranked number one on ICT service exports
Government and industry must synergise their efforts to promote R&D and innovation in the country. This was stated by Shri. Ratan P Watal, Principal Adviser, NITI Aayog & Member Secretary of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister at the India launch of Global Innovation Index 2018 in New Delhi on Wednesday 8th August 2018.
The event was organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) – one of the founding partners of GII along with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), in collaboration with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
India’s rank on the Global Innovation Index (GII) has improved from 60 in 2017 to 57 in 2018. India has been consistently climbing the GII ranking for the past two years.
Launching the index, Mr Watal said, “The culture of spending on research and development is growing in India and we are seeing the results in the form of improvements in rankings such as the GII.”
He further said that GII 2018 report served another purpose. It provided an opportunity to look at examples from similar economies from across the world and understand how they effected change in their countries. He also drew a distinction between Innovation and Invention and emphasized the role of pure science in building scientific temper in the country. Mr. Watal underlined the need to-
- Transform India’s Innovation Ecosystem by formulating a New Innovation Policy to attract R&D investment into cutting edge technologies and build appropriate infrastructure and institutions
- Tap Global hotspots of Innovation in latest technologies like AI, Blockchain and Robotics etc.
- Connect Tinkering labs in schools with start-ups, business and high end educational institutions
- Target efficient, productive and outcome driven R&D in the Government Sector
Former Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, Dr Anil Kakodkar, who is author of the India chapter in the report said that “we must devise strategies to address our energy deficit, to ensure sustainable domestic energy supply”. He emphasized the need to look for innovative ways to tackle the country’s energy problems.
Assistant Director General, World Intellectual Property Organization, Naresh Prasad, said that GII enabled countries to compare their innovation performances and benchmark with others, he also added that WIPO would like to work with India to build its innovation ecosystem. He thanked CII for its sustained work in driving innovation.
China broke into the world’s top 20 most-innovative economies as Switzerland retained its number-one spot in the Global Innovation Index (GII) ranking published annually by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Rounding out the GII 2018 top ten: The Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Singapore, United States of America, Finland, Denmark, Germany and Ireland.
The theme of the 2018 GII edition is “Energizing the World with Innovation,” looking at the need for expanded innovative work in climate-friendly green technology amid rising energy demands worldwide. Projections indicate that by 2040 the world will require up to 30% more energy than it needs today and conventional approaches to expanding the energy supply are unsustainable in the face of climate change.
“Innovation is clearly necessary to address the energy/environment equation, but let us keep in mind that such innovation cannot be only technological. New social, economic and business models are required, including through efforts to promote smart cities, mobility solutions based on shared vehicles – and a global citizenry with better information on the impacts of various energy policies.”