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India Ranks 38th in Global Innovation Index, Driven by Digital Services & Venture Capital
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Moneycontrol•01-10-2026, 15:37
India Ranks 38th in Global Innovation Index, Driven by Digital Services & Venture Capital
- •India secured the 38th position in the Global Innovation Index 2026, maintaining its lead among lower-middle-income economies and first in Central and Southern Asia.
- •The country is recognized as one of the fastest long-term climbers among middle-income nations, making significant advances in the index since 2013.
- •India excels in innovation outputs, ranking 25th globally, and leads in ICT services exports and late-stage venture capital deals.
- •Despite strengths, structural weaknesses include a relatively low number of researchers and scientific articles, requiring expansion beyond dominant digital and startup sectors.
- •India remains an innovation "overperformer" for the 16th consecutive year and hosts four of the world's top 100 innovation clusters: Bengaluru (25th), Delhi (27th), Mumbai (43rd), and Chennai (79th).
Key Questions Answered
India ranked 38th globally in the Global Innovation Index 2026 with an overall score of 40.1, retaining its position as the leading innovation economy among lower-middle-income countries and in Central and Southern Asia.
India ranked 49th on innovation inputs and 25th on outputs, placing first globally in information and communication technology service exports and fourth in late-stage venture capital deals.
The WIPO report noted that India remains relatively weak in the number of researchers and scientific articles, indicating that future gains will require expanding research and technology adoption beyond dominant startup sectors.
