Karnataka is the most innovative major state in India, stated NITI Aayog in the Indian Innovation Index (III) 2019 released on Thursday. Institute of for Competitiveness was the knowledge partner for computing this index.
Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra are in second and third positions in the index. Sikkim and Delhi take the top spots among the north- eastern & hill states, and union territories/city states/small states respectively.
In terms of translating inputs into outputs, Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh are the most efficient states.
The following table brings to you the III 2019 ranks.
Top 10 states
| States | III Rank | Enablers Rank | Performance Rank |
| Karnataka | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Tamil Nadu | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| Maharashtra | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Telangana | 4 | 9 | 4 |
| Haryana | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Kerala | 6 | 4 | 8 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 7 | 15 | 5 |
| West Bengal | 8 | 11 | 6 |
| Gujarat | 9 | 6 | 9 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 10 | 8 | 10 |
| Punjab | 11 | 7 | 13 |
| Odisha | 12 | 10 | 11 |
| Rajasthan | 13 | 12 | 12 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 14 | 13 | 14 |
| Chhattisgarh | 15 | 14 | 17 |
| Bihar | 16 | 16 | 15 |
| Jharkhand | 17 | 17 | 16 |
North East and Hill States
| Union Territories/City states/Small States |
III Rank | Enablers Rank | Performance Rank |
| Sikkim | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Uttarakhand | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Manipur | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| Tripura | 6 | 6 | 9 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Assam | 8 | 11 | 2 |
| Nagaland | 9 | 9 | 7 |
| Mizoram | 10 | 8 | 10 |
| Meghalaya | 11 | 10 | 8 |
Union Territories, City states and Small States
| Union Territories/City states/Small States |
III Rank | Enablers Rank | Performance Rank |
| Delhi | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Chandigarh | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Goa | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Puducherry | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands |
5 | 4 | 7 |
| Daman & Diu | 6 | 7 | 3 |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 7 | 8 | 4 |
| Lakshadweep | 8 | 6 | 8 |
Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog; Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog; Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology; Renu Swarup, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology and Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, AYUSH were present during the release of the index.
Speaking on the occasion, Kant said, “India has a unique opportunity among its myriad challenges to become the innovation leader in the world.”
Dr Kumar stated, “The India Innovation Index would create synergies between different stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem and India would shift to competitive good governance.”
Prof. Sharma reiterated, “The index is a great beginning to improve the environment of innovation in the country as it focuses on both the input and output components of the idea.”
According to NITI Aayog, the study is an outcome of extensive research and analysis, which looks holistically at the innovation landscape of India by examining the innovation capabilities and performance of Indian states and union territories.
The think tank aims to create a holistic tool which can be used by policymakers across the country to identify the challenges to be addressed and strengths to build on when designing the economic growth policies for their regions.
Ranking Methodology
The India Innovation Index 2019 is calculated as the average of the scores of its two dimensions – Enablers and Performance. The Enablers are the factors that underpin innovative capacities, grouped in five pillars:
- Human Capital
- Investment
- Knowledge Workers
- Business Environment
- Safety and Legal Environment
The Performance dimension captures benefits that a nation derives from the inputs, divided in two pillars:
- Knowledge Output and
- Knowledge Diffusion
As per the report, the innovation ecosystem of the country is strong in south and western parts of India. “Three of the top five major states are from southern India. Delhi and Haryana seem to be an exception to this rule and seem to be doing well on the Index. Thus, there seems to be a west-south and north-east divide across the country,” mentions NITI Aayog.