India ranks 48th in the 13th Edition of Global Innovation Index 2020 released by WIPO

For the First time, India joined the group of Top 50 Countries in the 13th Edition of Global Innovation Index (GII) 2020, as it took the 48th rank with a score of 35.59 in the Annual report jointly released by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Cornell University and INSEAD Business School. 

* LM – lower-middle income, * HI – high income 

Switzerland, Sweden, United States(US), United Kingdom(UK) and Netherlands took the top spots in the 2020 ranking. A total of 131 countries were analysed under the GII before arriving at the rankings.

The Theme of the 13th edition of the GII 2020 is “Who Will Finance Innovation?”.

Note – India occupied the 52nd position in 2019, and 81st in the year 2015. 

Indicators:

The indicators for GII include institutions, human capital and research, infrastructure, market sophistication and business sophistication, knowledge and technology outputs and creative outputs.

Key Points:

i.The top 10 positions are dominated by high-income countries such as Switzerland, Sweden, US, UK and the Netherlands.

ii.According to the report, India came third in the most innovative Lower Middle-Income Economy, Vietnam took the top position and Ukraine took the second position.

iii.India ranks in Top 15 in indicators such as ICT (Information and Communication Technology) services exports, Government Online Services, Graduates in Science and Engineering, and Research & Development intensive Global Companies. 

iv.WIPO also accepted India as one of the leading innovation achievers of 2019 in the Central and South Asian Region, India has shown a consistent improvement in rankings for the last five years. 

v.India,Kenya, Republic of Moldova and Viet Nam hold record of being Innovation achievers for 10 consecutive years(2011-2020). 

Background:

i.Department of Science and Technology, Department of Biotechnology and Department of Space have played a pivotal role in enriching the national innovation ecosystem

ii.Indian Innovation Index, released last year by NITI Aayog has been accepted as a major step in the decentralisation of innovation across the country. 

WIPO:

i.World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a global forum for intellectual property policy, services, information and cooperation. 

ii.It is a special agency of the United Nations and assists 193 member states to develop IP legal framework to meet the society’s evolving needs.

Recent Related News:

i.According to the ‘Freedom in the World 2020” report, released by the Freedom House, a U.S (United States) -based watchdog that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, India ranked 83rd in the report in ‘Free Category.

ii.In accordance with the “Countries Global Ranking of Startup Ecosystem 2020” by global innovation mapping and research company StartupBlink, India ranked at 23rd position.

About WIPO:
Director General – Daren Tang (Singapore) 
Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland