How India Is Gradually Stepping Toward Becoming an ‘Innovation Economy’

The Indian economy is among the fastest-growing economies worldwide. Innovation has played an important role in attaining this position. Innovation is a priority for India – committed to witnessing more growth with innovative footprints.

Impact of Innovation on a Nation

Innovation has a direct impact on a nation’s well-being. The entire country can progress with digital infrastructure, electrification, rising employment opportunities, and easy access to education and healthcare – to name a few fields – by becoming innovative. Many nations managed to catch up by embracing new technologies, and some remained behind. India is making steady progress in this direction, and there are causes for optimism about its future prospects.

How India Is Stepping Toward Becoming Innovative

India is gradually stepping towards becoming an innovation economy by fostering a culture of digitisation, investing in R&D (research and development), promoting entrepreneurship, etc. Here is the explanation of pivotal ways in which India is making significant progress towards becoming an innovative economy:

1.  Strong Startup Ecosystem

Startups, being at the forefront of innovation, enjoy a vital role in an economy. Many companies started small as innovative startups. Over time, these startups have built great value. Many startups in India have witnessed incredible growth over the years and are ready to expand their reach further, for example, CRED, PharmEasy, Dream11, Instamojo, Delhivery, Practo, PhonePe, Razorpay, Paytm, etc. Disciplined experimentation allows startups to test their products and services, handle risks, and iterate based on consumers’ feedback. As A Result, they innovate faster in their respective industries and gain a foothold in the market. India has progressed considerably in terms of innovating startups and forming unicorns.

2.  Skilled Force

India has a large pool of highly skilled and talented professionals, including engineers, software developers, and researchers. Over the past few decades, the number of tech talents has increased in India more than in any country worldwide. India is ranked third with a large number of educational institutions supporting a large pool of tech talent. This talent is continuing to deliver quality services for India and the world. Also, it enabled India to be a place where numerous software technologies were developed, making it a famed country globally. Many Indian professionals are working for top global tech companies and contributing to their innovation efforts.

3.  Government Initiatives to Boost Innovation Culture

The government has initiated several schemes to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in India. For instance, the Startup India program is providing funding and other support to new ideas, and the Atal Innovation Mission is aimed to foster a culture of innovation. Atal Innovation Mission has supported 2900+ startups that include 900+ women-led startups. It has also applied Research and Innovation to small enterprises challenges.

4.  Increasing R&D Spending

The Indian government is making more efforts to enhance the R&D budget allotment to create fair opportunities for researchers. India ranks 6th in R&D investment globally. UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) and SETS (Society for Electronic Transactions and Security) join hands to do R&D for the development of tools in deep tech domains, like Quantum Computing, Cyber Security, IoT (Internet of Things) Security, etc.

5.  Intellectual Property Protection

India has strengthened its intellectual property laws and regulations, which have encouraged companies to invest in R&D and innovation. The government has also established specialised courts to handle intellectual property disputes.

6.  Emerging Technologies

India has been investing in emerging technologies like machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and quantum computing. Many organisations are working on designing innovative solutions using these advanced technologies.

7. Innovation Hubs

India is home to several innovation hubs, such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Pune, which are attracting companies and talent from around the world.

8. Global Collaborations

India has collaborated with other nations on innovation initiatives. For example, the India-Sweden Innovations Partnership aims to promote innovations in both countries. Sustainability, Green transition and Innovation are the key focuses.

Overall, India has made significant progress in recent years towards becoming an innovative economy and there is a long way to go for overall growth. By leveraging government funding, innovative startups can grow quickly. The government and market leaders across sectors need to continue to invest in innovation to drive sustainable growth and development.