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Global Innovation Index 2026 – India 38th of 139 economies; first among lower-middle-income economies

16-10-2026 · English

Global Innovation Index 2026 – India 38th of 139 economies; first among lower-middle-income economies

Topics: Indices & Reports · 16 October 2026 Current Affairs (UPSC / TNPSC / SSC / RRB)

News

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) released the 19th Global Innovation Index (GII 2026) in Geneva on 29 Sept 2026. India is 38th of 139 economies (also 38th in 2025); 1st among 36 lower-middle-income economies; 1st of 11 in Central and Southern Asia (followed by Kazakhstan 73, Bhutan 74). It is 49th in innovation inputs and 25th in outputs. Switzerland is 1st for the 16th year running; Sweden 2nd, the USA 3rd. In the top-100 cluster ranking released earlier on 8 Sept 2026: Bengaluru 25, Delhi 27, Mumbai 43, Chennai 79.

Key facts

Release29 Sept 2026, Geneva – WIPO; 19th edition
Top ranks1 Switzerland, 2 Sweden, 3 USA, 4 Rep. of Korea, 5 Singapore, 6 UK; China 10
India38/139; inputs 49, outputs 25; an 'innovation overperformer' for 16 years
India – strengths1st in ICT services exports; 4th in late-stage venture capital deals
ClustersWorld No. 1 – Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou; India: Bengaluru 25, Delhi 27, Mumbai 43, Chennai 79
FrameworkAbout 80 indicators; 5 input pillars + 2 output pillars

Background

  • The GII was first published in 2007 and is now published by WIPO – a UN specialised agency headquartered in Geneva (Switzerland), set up by the 1967 Convention; India joined in 1975.
  • Framework: innovation inputs – institutions, human capital & research, infrastructure, market sophistication, business sophistication; innovation outputs – knowledge & technology outputs, creative outputs. Overall score = average of the two. 2026 focus – deep-science entrepreneurship ('Powering entrepreneurs at the frontier of science').
  • India's trend: 40th in 2022 and 2023, 39th in 2024, 38th in 2025 and 2026. WIPO notes India is still weak in researcher numbers and scientific articles. Among the top 100 clusters, China has 25 and the USA 20.

Tamil Nadu link: Chennai is 79th among WIPO's top 100 innovation clusters – up 5 places from 2025; one of India's 4 clusters. In NIRF 2025, IIT Madras was No. 1 overall for the 7th consecutive year.

Source: WIPO GII 2026 results; WIPO press release PR/2026/958 (8 Sept 2026); IPWatchdog (9 Sept 2026); Drishti IAS, StudyIQ, myind.net (Oct 2026)

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