14 Oct 2021
The Global Innovation Index (GII) assesses the performance of 132 countries on seven parameters viz. institutions, human capital and research, infrastructure, market sophistication, business Sophistication, knowledge and technology outputs and creative outputs. CII is a founding knowledge partner of the GII and has driven innovation in Indian industry through multiple initiatives.
India’s innovation landscape has undergone a remarkable transformation in the past few years. The adoption of new innovative technologies has helped India become the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world.
In the recent India launch of Global Innovation Index 2021, India ranked 46th in the innovation index amongst 132 economies. India also secured the first rank in central and southern Asia.
Its output and input ranks were 45 and 57, respectively. It was ranked first in the information and communications technology (ICT) services exports. Other parameters where it secured a place among the top 10 performers are domestic market scale (3), and trade, diversification, and market scale (7).
The Indian Government has taken initiatives for promoting intellectual property rights (IPR) and made several amendments to the IP filing processes to make them shorter, more efficient and effective. The IPR Policy 2016 was introduced to focus on creating IPR awareness, conducive legal and legislative framework, commercialization of IPRs, and human capital development, among others.
For example, the timeframe for patent examination has been reduced to 12-30 months from an average of 72 months in 2015. The examination period for new trademark registrations has been cut down to less than 30 days from 13 months. This has resulted in the registration of 1.16 million trademarks in just four years (2016-17 to 2019-20), compared to 1.1 million registrations in 75 years (1940-2015).
New initiatives to promote and encourage innovation have also been introduced, which include concessions in IPR filing by startups and women entrepreneurs, 80% concession for IPR filing by educational institutions, and 75 scholarships for students from economically weaker sections of the society studying IP-related laws, among others.
The participation of industry is a central component of the innovation landscape. CII has been deeply engaged in promoting innovation culture among enterprises for better competitiveness.
Global Innovation & Technology Alliance (GITA), promoted jointly by Technology Development Board, Department of Science and Technology and CII, is a public private partnership to manage funds for industry to undertake cutting edge research in collaboration with other countries. GITA has launched several national and bilateral projects to help businesses across the country innovate.
It encourages industrial investments in innovative technology solutions through mapping technology gaps, evaluating technologies available across the world and forging techno– strategic collaborative partnerships. It has collaborated with several countries, including Canada, Israel, South Korea, Spain and so on.
To recognize the efforts made by the industry, academia and research institutions in the field of innovation, CII organizes several competitions and award events. CII Industrial Innovation Awards 2021, Global Innovation Series, CII iDesign Program, CII Design Excellence Awards, CII Young Designers Awards, etc. are held to encourage the spirit of innovation across stakeholders and initiate innovation as a movement across nation.
The Tamil Nadu Technology Development and Promotion Centre ((TNTDPC) help MSMEs and entrepreneurs based in Tamil Nadu, access global markets and compete on the foundations of technology innovation and international standards. CII Gujarat Knowledge Application and Facilitation Centre (CII-GKAFC) works to enhance the R&D capabilities of Indian companies.
CII has also set up IP Facilitation Centres (IPFCs) in Mysore, Indore, and Gandhinagar, in association with the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. These centres work closely with Indian industries, particularly MSMEs and startups, to protect their intellectual properties.
Innovation has a direct economic correlation, as it leads to greater productivity by generating more goods and services, jobs, and profitability. It is, therefore, crucial that the innovation mission remains strong for the country to excel in future technologies.