NITI Aayog’s India Innovation Index 2021: Karnataka, Telangana & Haryana bag top spots

Karnataka, Manipur and Chandigarh have topped in their respective categories as per the third edition of NITI Aayog’s India Innovation Index released on Thursday.

Karnataka has retained its top spot in the ‘Major States’ category, followed by Telangana and Haryana. Manipur has emerged as the best performer among the north-eastern and hilly states, followed by Uttarakhand and Meghalaya. Among the Union Territories and city-states, Chandigarh is the top performer, followed by Delhi.

This is the third edition of the report which presents an evaluation of the innovation readiness of states and UTs and highlights potential challenges that deter the government, businesses and individuals from fully realising their potential.

The India Innovation Index is prepared by the NITI Aayog and the Institute for Competitiveness. The number of indicators has increased from 36 (in the India Innovation Index 2020) to 66 (in the India Innovation Index 2021).

“Innovation is critical in promoting the country’s resilience and self-reliance. The index points to the decentralization of innovation across all Indian states,” said NITI Aayog Senior Adviser Neeraj Sinha.

“The index also draws some international parallels, which will add to India’s learnings and how we can be on a par with our counterparts,” said Institute for Competitiveness Chairman Dr Amit Kapoor.


The index was released on Thursday by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery in the presence of Member Dr VK Saraswat, CEO Parameswaran Iyer and Senior Adviser Neeraj Sinha, and Institute for Competitiveness Chairman Dr Amit Kapoor.

‘Innovation is the key to sustainable and inclusive growth. It can help us solve the biggest challenges of our times: bringing millions out of poverty, generating livelihood opportunities, and paving the way for an Aatmanirbhar Bharat,’ said Dr Saraswat.

‘I would like to reaffirm NITI Aayog’s continued commitment to monitoring the state of innovation in India through the India Innovation Index. We strive to improve the innovation ecosystem across the nation in partnership with the states and other stakeholders,’ said Iyer.