Odisha Fails To Make It To Top 10 In Niti Aayog’s Index 2019

Odisha ranked 12th in the India Innovation Index 2019 released by Niti Aayog, the government’s think-tank, along with the Institute of Competitiveness on Thursday.

The first-of-its-kind study examined the innovation ecosystem of the Indian states and union territories.

According to the complete India Innovation Index (III), as provided by the Press Information Bureau, the states were ranked on their innovation capability, the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for them and actions needed by policy makers to foster. It is on the lines of Global Innovation Index.

Karnataka has topped this list, released by Niti Aayog Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar and CEO Amitabh Kant, followed by Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana and Haryana, who have been ranked. Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh followed close behind, forming the top ten in Niti Aayog’ first Innovation Index.

The states were bifurcated into three categories:

• Major states
• North-East and hill states
• Union Territories/city states/small states

Karnataka was adjudged the most innovative among the major states, followed by Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra. The index showed that innovation ecosystem of the country was the strongest in South and western parts of India.

Among states, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand finished at the bottom of the Index, while Delhi, Chandigarh and Goa topped the list among union territories. Sikkim took the top spot among the North-Eastern and Hill states.

The idea behind the index, which has been developed over last one-and-a-half-year, is to analyse innovation at state level.  The index has been grouped under two major heads – Enablers and Performance. The index is based on seven pillars which include five Enablers and two Performance indicators.

The Enablers are the factors that underpin innovative capacities grouped in the five pillars:

• Human capital
• Investment
• Knowledge workers
• Business environment
• Safety and Legal environment

The performance dimension capture benefits that a nation derives from the inputs, divided into two pillars namely:

• Knowledge Output
• Knowledge Diffusion

Odisha scored 10^th position in the Enabler ranking and 11^th in Performance.

Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog, said that India Innovation Index is another initiative that has been launched by the Niti Aayog to analyse and enhance the innovation environment at the state level in India. “Philosophy of naming and shaming states will help them to innovate,” he said.

“The index will be useful to states and union territories by bench-marking their performance against their peers to understand reasons for differential performance and devise better strategies towards creating an environment that fosters innovation,” he added.