NITI Aayog, along with the Institute for Competitiveness, has released the second edition of the India Innovation Index in a virtual event. The report examines the innovation capabilities and performance of the states and union territories.The first edition of the index was launched in October 2019.

The India Innovation Index 2020 was released by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar, in the presence of Member (Health) Dr VK Paul, Member (Agriculture) Dr Ramesh Chand, CEO Amitabh Kant, Adviser (Science and Technology) Neeraj Sinha, andInstitute for Competitiveness Chair Dr Amit Kapoor.

The event was attended by Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Secretary Dr Shekhar C. Mande, Department of Biotechnology Secretary Dr Renu Swarup, Ministry of Earth Sciences Secretary Dr MN Rajeevan, Ministry of Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola, and Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation Secretary Dr Kshatrapati Shivaji, among others.

Overall, Delhi retained its first rank, while Chandigarh made a big leap since 2019 and landed in the second place this year. Under the ‘North-Eastern/Hill States’ category, Himachal Pradesh moved up from the second position to emerge as the top ranker this year, while 2019’s top performer (in this category), Sikkim, slipped down to the fourth position.

The India Innovation Index aims to create an extensive framework for the continual evaluation of India’s innovation environment. The index aims to rank states and UTs based on their scores, recognize opportunities and challenges, and assist in tailoring government policies to foster innovation.

During the event, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar said, ‘The India Innovation Index will create synergies between different stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem, thus enabling India to shift to competitive good governance.’ He also said the index is a great beginning to improve the innovation environment in the country. It is the right step towards making India the innovation leader of the world.