India has moved up to the 52nd position in the Global Innovation Index, announced on Wednesday afternoon. The country has moved up five notches from last year.
Switzerland retained its position at the top of the global ranking. In fact, nine out of the top ten countries are the same as last year, with the surprise new entrant being Israel, which has broken into the top ten.
Global Innovation Index (GII) is presented annually by the UN's World Intellectural Property Organisation (WIPO) in association with GII knowledge partners like Cornell University and Insead. It evaluates 129 of the world's top economies based on intellectual property filing rates to mobile app creation rate, government initiatives on education and health as well as intellectual and technical publications.
India has steadfastedly risen in the GII rankings. In 2015, it was at No 81 and rose all the way to No 66 the next year, then No 60 in 2017 and No 57 last year. Though India was hoping to break into the top fifty, going up five notches to No 52 is also considered no mean achievement. In fact, India has the highest rise among all the major economies of the world. Besides, the country also bagged the honour of being the most innovative economy in central and south Asia.
“It is obvious India is catching up quickly,” Naresh Prasad, assistant director general and chief of staff of WIPO said.
This was the first time the GII was unveiled in India. Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, and Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal launched the index at a function in Delhi. Goyal said India hoped to get into the top 25 within the next few years.
Besides Switzerland at No 1, the other countries in the top ten are Sweden, the USA, The Netherlands, the UK, Finland, Denmark, Singapore, Germany and Israel. China is at No 14, rising up three notches from No 17 last year.
