India is placed 66 in the Global Innovation Index 2016 that ranks more than 100 countries after assessing their innovation capacity on a yearly basis.
This year saw China joining the top 25 in the GII list with Switzerland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Finland and Singapore leading the rankings.
China’s achievement is creditable as for the first time, a middle-income country has joined the highly developed economies that have so far dominated the GII’s top ranks.
However, an “innovation divide” persists between developed and developing countries amid increasing awareness among policymakers that fostering innovation is crucial to a vibrant, competitive economy, the report said.
“Innovation requires continuous investment. Before the 2009 crisis, research and development (R&D) expenditure grew at an annual pace of approximately 7%. GII 2016 data indicate that global R&D grew by only 4% in 2014.
“This was a result of slower growth in emerging economies and tighter R&D budgets in high-income economies – this remains a source of concern, it added.
“Investing in innovation is critical to raising long-term economic growth,” says WIPO Director General Francis Gurry. “In this current economic climate, uncovering new sources of growth and leveraging the opportunities raised by global innovation are priorities for all stakeholders.”
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India is top-ranked in Central and Southern Asia, on account of its strengths in tertiary education and R&D, including global R&D intensive firms.
The quality of Indian universities and scientific publications, its market sophistication and ICT service exports where it ranks first in the world, also came in for praise in the GII Report.
India ranks second on innovation quality among middle-income economies, overtaking Brazil. The country also over-performs in innovation relative to its GDP.
The country continues to rank among the top 50 economies overall in two aspects– Market sophistication (33) and Knowledge and technology outputs (43). The most significant improvements are in Human capital and research where it moved up 40 spots and Business sophistication (up 59 spots), the report said.
“Within Human capital and research, India data coverage increased, specifically in graduates in sciences and engineering (ranked 8th overall in 2016, while this was a missing value in 2015), affecting the jump in its ranking.
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“India’s ranking in the Business sophistication pillar is affected most by a substantial improvement in Knowledge workers (up 46 spots) and Knowledge absorption (up 33 spots); India improved in the ranking of firms offering formal training by 56 spots to reach 42nd place,” the report added.
Published annually since 2007, the GII is a leading benchmarking tool for business executives, policy makers and others seeking insight into the state of innovation around the world. Policymakers, business leaders and other stakeholders use the GII to evaluate progress on a continual basis.
| Region / Rank | Country Name | GII 2016 Rank |
| Northern America | ||
| 1 | United States of America | 4 |
| 2 | Canada | 15 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | ||
| 1 | Mauritius | 53 |
| 2 | South Africa | 54 |
| 3 | Kenya | 80 |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | ||
| 1 | Chile | 44 |
| 2 | Costa Rica | 45 |
| 3 | Mexico | 61 |
| Central and Southern Asia | ||
| 1 | India | 66 |
| 2 | Kazakhstan | 75 |
| 3 | Islamic Republic of Iran | 78 |
| Northern Africa and Western Asia | ||
| 1 | Israel | 21 |
| 2 | Cyprus | 31 |
| 3 | United Arab Emirates | 41 |
| Southeast Asia and Oceania | ||
| 1 | Singapore | 6 |
| 2 | Republic of Korea | 11 |
| 3 | Hong Kong (China) | 14 |
| Europe | ||
| 1 | Switzerland | 1 |
| 2 | Sweden | 2 |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 3 |
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