NITI Aayog with Institute for Competitiveness as the knowledge partner released the India Innovation Index (III) 2019. Karnataka is the most innovative major state in India. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana, Haryana, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh form the remaining top ten major states respectively. The top ten major states are majorly concentrated in southern and western India. Sikkim and Delhi take the top spots among the north- eastern & hill states, and union territories/city states/small states respectively. Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh are the most efficient states in translating inputs into output.
The index was released in the presence of Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog; Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog; Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science; Renu Swarup, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology and Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, AYUSH.
Dr. Rajiv Kumar expressed hope that “the India Innovation Index would create synergies between different stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem and India would shift to competitive good governance.” Amitabh Kant added that “India has a unique opportunity among its myriad challenges to become the innovation leader in the world.” Renu Swarup said, “cluster-based innovation should be leveraged upon as the focal point of competitiveness.” Shri Ashutosh Sharma said, “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.” Vaidya Kotecha said, “The index is a good effort to benchmark the performance of the state with each other and promote competitive federalism.”
| States | III Rank | Enablers Rank | Performance Rank |
| Major States | |||
| 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 |
| NE and Hill states | |||
| 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/Small States
| |||
| 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 |
The study examines the innovation ecosystem of Indian states and union territories.The aim is 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. The states have been bifurcated into three categories: major states, north-east, and hill states, and union territories/city states/small states.
