India has collaborated with several other nations across various sectors like electronics and semiconductors, the blue economy, clean energy, health tech, and deep space research as it aims to become a global leader in innovation, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said.

“Technology and innovation are among the primary engines of a nation’s growth and economic development. Many of the significant innovations during the pandemic were led by digitization of businesses,” Kant said at the Global Innovation Conclave organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

India has climbed two notches to be at 46th position in the Global Innovation Index 2021 released on Monday besides emerging as the second most innovative country amongst lower middle income nations behind Vietnam.

The government is of the view that several machine learning and AI interventions have led India into a leadership position in innovation. “The Indian innovation ecosystem is driven by the knowledge economy, fundamental research driven by the marketplace and disruptive technologies like machine learning, AI. These interventions have taken India to the innovation leadership position,” VK Saraswat, member NITI Aayog said.

“India has all the right ingredients for innovation and teamwork with stronger integration of this with the global community will take us to the top for innovation ladder,” he said.

Meanwhile, industry body CII said it plans to launch Industry Innovation Rating and Competitiveness Index which will help nurture innovation culture and enhance innovation competitiveness of India Inc. “Innovation plays a critical leadership role for socio-economic growth and development,” CII director general Chandrajit Banerjee said.

The Global Innovation Index (GII) provides detailed metrics about the innovation performance of 132 economies around the world and helps create an environment that evaluates innovation factors continuously.