Global Innovation Index 2025, UPSC Article
Global Innovation Index 2025 for UPSC : This current affairs UPSC article provides detailed UPSC notes on Global Innovation Index 2025, covering key facts, background, government initiatives, and exam relevance. It includes Prelims one-liners, Mains analysis, and possible questions based on the latest reports and data. Ideal for aspirants preparing for UPSC, State PCS, and other competitive exams.
The Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025, released by WIPO, ranks 139 countries based on their innovation capacity and output. India has secured 38th rank globally and continues to lead in the Central and Southern Asia region. This article covers the methodology, India’s performance, key findings, challenges, and relevance for UPSC Prelims and Mains Examination.
📚 Subject Category: GS Paper – III | Topics: Economy, Science & Technology, Inclusive Growth, Innovation Policy
What is the Global Innovation Index (GII)
- The GII is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for and success in innovation. It is published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in partnership with others, including the Portulans Institute.
- It started in 2007 and has evolved over time, expanding both the number of economies covered and the breadth of indicators.
Methodology & Structure
- The GII divides innovation performance into two main sub-indices:
- Innovation Input Sub-Index — measuring elements that enable or facilitate innovation (basically, the factors you need for innovation to occur). This is further divided into five pillars:
- Institutions
- Human capital & research
- Infrastructure
- Market sophistication
- Business sophistication
- Innovation Output Sub-Index — measuring the results or outputs of innovation. There are two pillars here:
- Knowledge & Technology Outputs
- Creative Outputs
- Innovation Input Sub-Index — measuring elements that enable or facilitate innovation (basically, the factors you need for innovation to occur). This is further divided into five pillars:
- The index uses many component indicators (around 78-81) drawn from public and private sources: statistics on R&D spending, patent filings, scientific publications, ICT usage, venture capital deals, etc.
- The score for a country is generally an average of input score and output score (with weights as per pillars / sub-pillars).
Recent Highlights from GII 2025
- Global Trends:
- Growth in R&D has slowed. In 2024, global R&D growth was 2.9%; projected lower in 2025 (≈ 2.3%) — the lowest since the 2010 financial crisis.
- Venture capital (VC) values rose by 7.7% in 2024, but if you exclude very large deals (megadeals) and sectors like generative AI, VC deals/contracts show contraction or caution in many regions.
- Technology adoption has been slower even though the pace of technological advancement on many fronts remains strong. For example, battery costs fell by ~20%, computing super efficiency improved, etc.
- Top Ranked Countries:
- Switzerland continues as first position, a position it has held since 2011, followed by Sweden and the United States in the Global innovation Index (GII) 2025 survey of 139 economies that ranks them based on 78 indicators. China has entered the top 10 this year (for first time replacing Germany) in 2025.
- India’s Performance:
- India is 38th globally out of ~139 economies in GII 2025.
- India is top among economies in Central & Southern Asia.
- Key strengths for India include: ICT services exports, robust unicorn valuations and late-stage VC deals, growth in knowledge creation (scientific publications), patent filings, improved creative outputs.
- Also, several Indian cities/clusters feature among the top 100 innovation clusters globally (e.g. Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai).
🏆 Top 10 Countries in GII 2025
According to the WIPO / GII 2025 report, the top 10 most innovative economies are
| Rank | Country |
|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland |
| 2 | Sweden |
| 3 | United States of America |
| 4 | Republic of Korea (South Korea) |
| 5 | Singapore |
| 6 | United Kingdom |
| 7 | Finland |
| 8 | Netherlands |
| 9 | Denmark |
| 10 | China |
Significance / Relevance for India & Policy
- Benchmarking & Policy Orientation: The GII gives a framework for governments to compare their innovation ecosystems with peers, identify weaknesses, and design policy interventions. For instance, India can see where it lags (infrastructure, regulatory, etc.) and focus accordingly.
- Encouraging R&D & Private Sector Involvement: The indicators show R&D investment by private sector, VC funding, etc. This helps highlight the need for incentivizing private R&D, facilitating startup culture, etc.
- Regional & Cluster Development: The emphasis on innovation clusters encourages decentralised innovation hubs (beyond just metros), which aligns with India’s policy goals of spreading innovation to Tier II/III cities.
- Global Reputation & Competitiveness: Higher ranking helps in attracting foreign investment, talent, collaborations, intellectual property, etc.
Challenges / Criticisms / Areas India Needs to Improve
- Low R&D as % of GDP: Though improving somewhat, India’s absolute R&D spend relative to GDP is still modest compared to leading nations. This limits breakthrough innovation. (Also reflected in many analyses/criticisms.)
- Regulatory & Institutional Bottlenecks: Complex regulations, delays, bureaucratic hurdles hamper ease of doing innovative business. Also enforcement of IPRs, linkages between academia & industry need strengthening.
- Infrastructure Gaps: Physical and digital infrastructure in many regions remains weak. Innovation needs reliable power supply, high-speed internet, labs, R&D facilities.
- Human Capital & Skill Mismatch: While graduates in engineering/sciences are many, there is often a mismatch in what industry demands. Creative thinking, risk-taking, and entrepreneurial skills need more emphasis.
- Regional Disparities: Innovation is concentrated in certain cities (clusters). Many states lag behind in innovation ecosystems.
- Sustainability & Inclusive Innovation: Ensuring innovations are green, socially inclusive, and accessible remains a challenge. Also concerns about environmental impact.
How India Has Improved: Key Drivers
- Startup India, Digital India, Atal Innovation Mission etc. that encourage entrepreneurship and innovation policy ecosystem. (Though you’ll want to check specific data/state cases.)
- Improvements in intellectual property filings.
- Growth in high technology exports, ICT services.
- Better performance of Indian innovation clusters.
UPSC Relevance: Why Should You Study This
- Helps you answer questions on Science & Technology, Governance, Economic Development, Public Policy.
- Useful in essays, especially those about innovation, competitiveness, India in global rankings.
- In general studies papers, particularly GS Paper III (S&T, Economic Development), this shows up often.
Possible Mains Questions & How to Approach Them
Here are some potential mains-questions (both direct and indirect) on GII / innovation, and pointers on how to structure answers:
| Question | Key Points to Cover | Possible Answer Structure / Keywords |
|---|---|---|
| 1. “Critically examine India’s performance in the Global Innovation Index 2025. What are the strengths and weaknesses of India’s innovation ecosystem? Suggest measures to improve its ranking.” | * Introduce GII (what, who, methodology) * India’s ranking & how it has changed over years * Strengths (ICT services, startups, unicorns, knowledge output, clusters) * Weaknesses (R&D spend, infrastructure, regional inequalities, institutional/ regulatory challenges) * Measures: policy reforms, increased public & private R&D investment, stronger industry-academia linkages, better infrastructure, skill development, IPR reforms, cluster-based growth, inclusivity & sustainability. * Conclusion with way forward. | Use recent data (2025), compare with peers, mention specific schemes (Startup India, Atal Innovation), show balanced view. |
| 2. “How does the Global Innovation Index help in formulating policy measures for innovation-led growth? Illustrate with reference to Indian context.” | * Define GII and its components * How GII identifies gaps & best practices (benchmarking) * Policy implications: what policies have been made / modified because of GII findings * Application to Indian case: what India can learn from top performers (e.g Switzerland, S Korea, etc.) * Possible reforms in India aligned to GII pillars * Conclusion. | Emphasis on actionable insights; mention comparative lessons. |
| 3. “Innovation for India’s growth: challenges and policy imperatives in context of the Global Innovation Index.” | * Definition & importance of innovation for growth (economic, social, inclusive) * State of India in GII & its implications * Major challenges: ecosystem, financing, regulation, education & skills, infrastructure, geographical imbalance * Key policy imperatives: incentivise R&D, boost VC/angel ecosystem, improve ease of patenting & IPR, build innovation clusters beyond metros, focus on green innovation, promote grassroots / frugal innovation etc. * Conclusion: role of government, private sector, academia, civil society. | Use examples; possibly mention state-level initiatives; stress sustainability & inclusivity. |
| 4. “To what extent do global indices like GII provide a true measure of innovation? Discuss strengths and limitations of such indices.” | * Definition and purpose of indices like GII * Strengths: benchmarking; bringing data; helping policy; comparing across countries; motivating competition * Limitations: data reliability, comparability issues; over-emphasis on certain sectors; qualitative vs quantitative difficulty; possible misalignment with local innovation or informal sector; lag in reflecting recent changes; bias towards richer / high-income economies * How to mitigate limitations * Conclusion: while useful, must be interpreted cautiously. | Balanced view; mention alternative metrics; global vs local innovation. |