Innovating Towards Growth: A Region-focused Study of India’s Innovation System

Contemplating the process of innovation as part of a system, wherein interplay between different actors (government, academia and industry) guides the course of innovation as well as the long-term growth of a country, and may encourage policymakers to identify and address systemic failures to synergise the efforts of these actors. The actors in India’s innovation system have an interdependent relationship. For example, higher education institutions (HEIs) conduct research that the industry may commission, fund and later take to the market. Both HEIs and industries are regulated by state policies and are often provided fiscal and nonfiscal state support. Hence, the engagement of one actor is linked to the other. In this context, strengthening collaboration between HEIs, industry, government, and other organisations within an innovation system can help to bridge the gap between inventions and their commercialisation, ostensibly leading to the development of new products and services that may benefit communities and enable economic and social progress in a region. The discourse on innovation systems suggests that to build national innovation capabilities, the focus should be shifted to nurturing and developing regional innovation systems in a country. In light of the same, this report aims to examine India’s leading regional innovation systems. We hope this report provides valuable insights into India’s innovation system that may be utilised to galvanise its socio-economic development.

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