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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DIVISION
NITI AAYOG | SEPTEMBER 2025
PATHWAYS TO PROGRESS:
ANALYSIS AND INSIGHTS INTO
INDIA’S INNOVATION STORY Pathways to Progress: Analysis and Insights into India’s Innovation Story© 2025
ISBN Number: 978-81-967183-7-4
PLEASE CITE THE REPORT AS FOLLOWS:
V.K. Saraswat; Vivek Kumar Singh; Sujit Bhattacharya; Anurag Kanaujia; Ashok Sonkusare; Thyagaraju B.M.;
Akanksha Dhamija; Pratibha Chanana; Tusha Agarwal; Simarjot Kaur; Deepak Narang; Naba Suroor (2025).
Pathways to Progress: Analysis and Insights into India’s Innovation Story. NITI Aayog, New Delhi, India.
COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMERS
The information presented in this report regarding initiatives and programs is only indicative and by no way
is exhaustive. The description of initiatives and programs covered under all ministries are based on publicly
available inputs from different sources.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, modified, re-posted, stored
in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photo-copying,
recording or otherwise, without attributing the report as suggested herein.
© 2025 Science & Technology Division, NITI Aayog. PATHWAYS TO PROGRESS:
ANALYSIS AND INSIGHTS INTO
INDIA’S INNOVATION STORY f^renytrR
guift
Dharmendra Pradhan
'H R ^\ WcfTR
Minister of Education
Government of India
e
MESSAGE
Education has always been the cornerstone of India's progress, and today, more
than ever, it is driven by innovation. As our nation advances towards the vision of Viksit
Bharat, the ability of our young learners to imagine, experiment, and innovate will
determine not just their individual futures but the future of the country itself. No doubt,
knowledge creation and knowledge application can work in tandem to help India sustain
its growth in an increasingly competitive global landscape.
I am happy to know that the report titled
"Pathways to Progress - Analysis and
Insights into India's Innovation Story"
has been prepared by NITI Aayog, reflecting on how
education is deeply intertwined with innovation. It reminds us that innovation is not the
preserve of research labs or industries alone; it begins in our classrooms, in our higher
education institutions, and in the everyday act of learning. The seeds of creativity and
critical thinking sown during schooling mature into groundbreaking ideas in universities,
laboratories, and startups.
The National Education Policy (NEP) - 2020 has placed a strong emphasis on
fostering curiosity-driven learning, flexibility across disciplines, and greater integration of
skilling, technology and innovation in education. These reforms are designed to nurture
holistic individuals who are not just employable but also entrepreneurial, capable of
creating new knowledge and value. Equally important is the need to strengthen the
ecosystem that connects education to industry and government. Innovation can achieve
excellence only when it is inclusive and democratized across the country. The creativity of
rural communities, the ingenuity of grassroots innovators, and the aspirations of first-
generation learners are the defining features of India’s innovation story. Through digital
platforms, skill-development programmes, and regional research hubs, the opportunities to
innovate are made accessible to every child, in every corner of the country.
I believe this report will serve as an important guide for policymakers, educators,
and industry leaders in strengthening the education-innovation continuum. More than
that, I hope it inspires our students to see themselves not just as learners but as innovators -
capable of shaping new solutions for India and the world. The task before us is to build an
education system that is not only world-class in knowledge delivery but also unmatched in
its ability to spark discovery, creativity, and transformative innovation.
(Dharmendra Pradhan)
f^ re T T , f^ re TT
MOE - Room No. 301, 'C Wing, 3rd Floor, Shastri Bhavan, New Delhi-110 001, Phone : 91-11-23782387, Fax : 91-11-23382365
E-mail: minister.sm@gov.in Message
India is a country of long history and deep culture, and its spirituality and ideas have
shaped humanity and our world from ancient times to the current day. It is also a country
of immense human talent, which is increasingly devoted to innovation, technology and
entrepreneurship. Harnessing the full potential of a country of its scale and size is no
mean feat, but India’s innovation journey has made huge strides in the past decade.
This transformation is evident from India’s place in WIPO’s rankings of the world’s most
innovative economies, the Global Innovation Index (GII), which ranked India 81
st
globally
in 2015. A decade later, through visionary reforms that have tapped on India’s research,
technology and entrepreneurial energies, India has climbed to 38th position in the 2025
edition of the GII, the highest ranking for any lower-middle income economy and for any
country in Central and Southern Asia.
India’s strengths shine through in areas such as ICT services exports (1st globally),
domestic market scale (3rd), and late-stage venture capital deal activity (4th). Its
innovation outputs rank 32nd overall, ahead of its inputs ranking of 52nd—demonstrating
an ability to turn strong investment into even stronger results.
As well as its position in the country rankings, India’s innovative capacity is also evident
in the WIPO’s Ranking of World’s Top 100 Innovation Clusters. In 2025, four Indian
clusters—Bengaluru (21st), Delhi (26th), Mumbai (46th), and Chennai (84th)—rank
among the world’s top 100, placing these crucibles of innovation on a par with many
of the developed world’s most dynamic cities. Bengaluru’s leap into the global top 25
exemplifies this.
Another sign of India’s growing innovation prowess is the steady increase of intangible
investment in the country, which reached over $70 billion in 2022, having risen by
an average annual rate of 6.6% since 2011, the highest rate among all the economies
featured in WIPO’s study of intangible investment published in July 2025. Software and
databases accounted for half of intangible investment in 2022, a clear signal of the rising
importance of digital infrastructure and data capabilities in India’s economic future.
India’s cumulative stock of intangible investment is equivalent to almost 10% of its GDP,
underlining its transition toward a knowledge-driven economy. India’s competitiveness in the race for new technology and a share of the global digital
economy is also manifest in its rapidly rising IP filings. Patent applications more than
tripled from nearly 21,750 in 2014 to about 76,250 in 2024. Trademark applications
more than doubled over the same period, while industrial design filing activity rose
almost sixfold. As a major market, India attracts patent filings from all around the world,
but domestic patent filings surpassed foreign applications for the first time in 2022—
a powerful indication that Indian innovation is increasingly being shaped by its own
people and enterprises.
These achievements are rooted in initiatives such as the 2016 National IPR Policy, the Atal
Innovation Mission and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to “ideate in India, innovate
in India, make in India and make for the world.” Together, they have fostered a culture
of innovation that stretches from world-class R&D hubs to classrooms where millions of
children are being equipped with the tools to imagine and invent.
The “Pathways to Progress” report vividly captures this dynamism as well as India’s
intellectual property (IP) journey. This publication reflects not only the achievements
of Indian innovators but also our shared vision of harnessing creativity, technology and
knowledge as forces for inclusive and sustainable development.
I wish to acknowledge with gratitude our close collaboration with India’s Department
for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, the Indian Patent Office and NITI Aayog.
As India advances towards its Viksit Bharat 2047 vision and in a year that marks the
golden anniversary of WIPO’s relations with India, WIPO is committed to ensuring that
IP continues to empower and enable Indian entrepreneurs, innovators and creators.
Daren Tang
Director General
World Intellectual Property Organization Innovation has emerged as one of the most powerful drivers shaping nations in the
21
st
century, serving not only as a catalyst for economic growth but also as an enabler
of social transformation, global competitiveness, and resilience. For India, innovation
holds special significance, as it carries the dual potential to propel the country into the
ranks of leading knowledge economies while simultaneously addressing longstanding
developmental challenges in health, education, agriculture, sustainability, and inclusive
growth. Recognising this, NITI Aayog has undertaken this report, Pathways to Progress:
Analysis and Insights into India’s Innovation Story, to provide a comprehensive
assessment of India’s innovation journey, benchmark its performance against global
peers, evaluate structural strengths and weaknesses, and lay out actionable pathways
for the future.
The report begins by establishing the motivation and objectives of this exercise,
emphasising the need for a holistic understanding of innovation. Innovation is no longer
limited to scientific discovery or technological invention; it encompasses the generation,
diffusion, and application of ideas across economic, cultural, and social domains. The
report argues that innovation flourishes in ecosystems that combine enabling policies,
institutional frameworks, skilled human capital, financial incentives, and collaborative
engagement among academia, industry, and government. Accordingly, it defines
innovation in a broad sense and examines the variety of models that shape it – from
state-led mission programmes and market-driven entrepreneurship to grassroots
creativity and frugal innovations that address context-specific challenges.
Over the past decade, India’s innovation ecosystem has expanded rapidly, underpinned
by strong government initiatives. Mission-mode programmes such as the Atal
Innovation Mission, Make in India, Digital India, and Startup India have created
nationwide momentum, fostering a culture of experimentation and entrepreneurship.
Complementing these, sector-specific initiatives by central ministries and departments
have promoted innovation in biotechnology, electronics, space, renewable energy, and
other strategic areas. Intermediary organisations and technology boards have bridged
research and commercial application, while funding schemes and innovation councils
have strengthened academic and research institutions, enabling them to contribute
meaningfully to the broader innovation landscape. States have emerged as active
players, launching innovation missions, startup policies, and sector-specific incubators,
ensuring that innovation extends beyond metropolitan hubs. The private sector and
industry associations have also invested significantly in research and development, often
establishing collaborative platforms, corporate accelerators, and innovation challenges.
India’s grassroots and social innovators remain an integral component, demonstrating
frugal, high-impact approaches that cater to local needs. National events such as the
India International Science Festival and Startup Mahakumbh have further amplified the
visibility and vibrancy of the ecosystem.
India’s global innovation performance reflects steady progress. The country has risen
consistently in international benchmarks, such as Global Innovation Index (GII), where
Executive Summary Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story India has improved ranking from 81
st
in 2015 to 38
th
in 2025. India now hosts the world’s
third-largest startup ecosystem, with over a hundred unicorns, and has shown sustained
growth in publications, patents, trademarks, and other intellectual property indicators.
Leadership in geographical indications and the creative economy highlights India’s rich
cultural and knowledge assets. While these trends affirm India’s position as a credible
global innovation player, gaps remain in the commercialisation of research, expansion
into high-technology exports, and development of deep-tech ventures.
A closer examination of the ecosystem reveals both dynamism and asymmetry. The
startup ecosystem thrives as a driver of employment, product development, and
market expansion. Inclusive innovation, particularly in frugal and social domains,
extends technological solutions to underserved populations. Yet, university-industry-
government collaboration, essential for translating research into practical outcomes,
remains relatively weak compared to international standards. Structural and institutional
challenges persist, including fragmentation across ministries and states, skewed funding
models, inadequate support for early-stage and deep-tech ventures, regulatory and
bureaucratic hurdles, uneven infrastructure, and critical skills gaps in frontier domains
such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and semiconductors. Weak intellectual
property frameworks, limited global integration, and underdeveloped state-level
innovation policies further underscore the need for systemic strengthening.
Looking forward, the report presents a strategic roadmap to strengthen India’s
innovation ecosystem. It advocates scaling successful models across regions, diversifying
the role of technology business incubators into robust intermediaries, and prioritising
knowledge creation and dissemination through investment in research, development
and open science initiatives. Encouraging mobility between academia and industry will
enable cross-pollination of ideas and skills, while dedicated funding and infrastructure
will support deep technologies. Reforming intellectual property policies to improve
protection and commercialisation, establishing science, technology, and innovation
intermediary bodies, and creating an overarching coordinating entity will provide
coherence to the ecosystem. Strengthening state-level capacities through decentralised
funding, shared infrastructure, and targeted training will ensure that innovation is
geographically balanced and inclusive.
The report concludes that India’s innovation journey has reached a pivotal moment.
The foundations of a vibrant ecosystem are in place, but the next phase must move
beyond capacity building to achieving leadership in advanced technologies and
inclusive innovation models. The task ahead is to integrate fragmented efforts, deepen
collaboration among academia, industry, and government, and embrace bold reforms
that align India’s innovation system with global best practices while addressing domestic
priorities. By weaving together scale and inclusivity, and frontier science with grassroots
ingenuity, India has the potential to emerge as not only a global innovation hub but also
a nation where innovation directly enhances societal well-being, economic resilience,
and sustainable development. Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 1. Introduction��1
1.1 Motivation��4
1.2 Objectives��5
2. Defining Innovation Ecosystem��7
2.1 Defining Innovation ��8
2.2 Innovation Models and Dynamics��10
2.3 Creating an Enabling Ecosystem for Innovation��12
3. Indian Innovation Ecosystem��15
3.1 National Initiatives to promote Innovation��17
3.2 Initiatives at the State Level��62
3.3 Initiatives from Industry and Industry Associations��77
3.4 Social and Grassroots Innovation��78
3.5 Major Events pertaining to innovation��80
4. India in the Global Innovation Landscape ��87
4.1 The Global Innovation Index (GII)��89
4.2 European Innovation Scoreboard��92
4.3 OECD - Science, Technology and Innovation Scoreboard��93
4.4 Bloomberg Innovation Index��94
4.5 Startup ecosystem��94
4.6 Publications, Patents, Trademarks, and Geographical Indications��96
4.7 Intangible Assets and Creative Economy��98
4.8 India’s Global Positioning: Some Other Salient Achievements��100
5. Characterizing the Indian Innovation Ecosystem��107
5.1 Key Dimensions for Characterisation��108
5.2. India’s Startup Ecosystem��110
5.3 University Industry Government (UIG) Collaboration��117
5.4 Inclusive Innovation��119
TABLE OF CONTENTS Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 6. Identifying Challenges and Gaps in the Indian Innovation Ecosystem��123
6.1 Fragmentation and Lack of Coordination��124
6.2 Inadequate and Skewed Funding Models��125
6.3 Weak University, Industry and Government (UIG) Connects��125
6.4 Regulatory and Bureaucratic Challenges��126
6.5 Weak Collaboration and Institutional Partnerships��126
6.6 Talent and Skills Gaps��127
6.7 Infrastructure Limitations in Non-Metro Areas�� 127
6.8 Weak IP Protection and Commercialization�� 128
6.9 Limited Global Integration��128
6.10 Systemic Gaps in State-Level Innovation Policies��129
6.11 Lack of Innovation in Deep Tech��129
7. The Road Ahead��131
7.1 Scale Successful Models��132
7.2 Diversify the Role of Technology Business Incubators��133
7.3 Prioritise and Incentivise Knowledge Creation and Use��133
7.4 Facilitate Mobility between Academia and Industry��134
7.5 Dedicated Support for Exploring Knowledge Frontiers ��135
7.6 Development of a Deep Technology Ecosystem��136
7.7 Intellectual Property Rights Policy Update�� 137
7.8 Strengthen Synergies across Ministries and Departments��139
7.9 Establishing STI Intermediary Organisations and an Overarching Body��139
7.10 Strengthen Innovation Capacity in States��141 Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story Figure 2.1: Economic changes under the Schumpeter’s Innovation model��8
Figure 2.2: Categorisation of different models of Innovation Process ��12
Figure 2.3: Key Components of an enabling ecosystem��14
Figure 3.1: AIM initiatives and their target system��18
Figure 3.2: Major Achievements of the Initiatives of AIM (updated upto 2024)��19
Figure 3.3: Components in the Startup India Initiative��20
Figure 3.4: Major initiatives of Make in India ��21
Figure 3.5: Illustrating components of National Supercomputing Mission��23
Figure 3.6: The 9 Pillars of Digital India initiative for transforming India��24
Figure 3.7: Some Components developed under the Digital India ��24
Figure 3.8: Focus areas of Quantum Computing Mission��28
Figure 3.9: DST NIDHI TBI Services��32
Figure 3.10: A representation of the various initiatives under the NIDHI program��32
Figure 3.11: Lifecycle model of DST-GDC I-NCUBATE��33
Figure 3.12: Distribution of Innovation Cells across the different states in India��34
Figure 3.13: The various components of KAPILA initiatives��36
Figure 3.14: Focus areas for activities of the MSH and the services provided
by the Hub��38
Figure 3.15: BIOE3 Salient Features ��40
Figure 3.16: Technology and Market Positioning of NMITLI sponsored Projects��42
Figure 3.17: Salient Features of TDB for supporting indigenous MSMEs ��50
Figure 3.18: Core objectives and strategies of BIRAC’s BioNEST��52
Figure 3.19: Existing catalytic funding across innovation value chain��53
Figure 3.20: Major focus areas of NIF activities�� 54
Figure 3.21: An indicative account of NIF activities and achievements��55
Figure 3.22: Collaboration of BIRAC with BLiSc and C-CAMP��60
Figure 3.23: Geographical connections with Genome valley ��61
Figure 3.24: Existing Knowledge clusters in India�� 62
LIST OF FIGURES Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story Figure 3.25: Efficiency in Innovation of Indian States��74
Figure 4.1a: Indicator-wise ranking and scoring of India in global innovation index��90
Figure 4.1b: India as the top Innovation overperformer in global innovation index��91
Figure 4.2: Innovation performance of India as emerging Innovator��92
Figure 4.3: India’s performance in OECD��93
Figure 4.4: India’s Innovation and startup landscape��94
Figure 4.5: Facts of India’s startup ecosystem�� 95
Figure 4.6: India position in Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Global Report��96
Figure 4.7: India’s status in patent and trademark applications��97
Figure 4.8: Annual growth rate of different economies in intangible investment��99
Figure 4.9: Analysis of asset types reveals varying investment across economies��100
Figure 4.10: Revealed technology specialization of selected countries
based on patent filings��101
Figure 4.11: India in Technology Readiness vs GDP per capita��101
Figure 4.12: Strong investments are propelling India’s shift to non-fossil power��102
Figure 4.13: India’s SDG Performance at a Glance�� 103
Figure 7.1: Proposed organisation of intermediary bodies��140 Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story LIST OF IMAGES
Image 3.1: Make in India Initiative meeting with PM Sh. Narendra Modi��21
Image 3.2: President of India, Ms. D. Murmu interacting with an artisan at an expo��47
Image 3.3: Display at the National Science Centre, Delhi��47
Image 3.4: View of the Science City, Kolkata��48
Image 3.5: Release of Third Edition of India Innovation Index ��75
Image 3.6: NITI organized a workshop on Building Synergies in
Innovation Ecosystem��76
Image 3.7: Glimpses of events organized during FINE at Rashtrapati Bhavan��79
Image 3.8: Dignitaries at Startup Mahakumbh 2025��81
Image 3.9: Releasing the brochure of the ninth edition of (IISF) 2023��81
Image 3.10: Glimpse of the Technology Summit 2021��82
Image 3.11: FINE inaugurated by the President of India��82
Image 3.12: PM Shri Narendra Modi Interaction with SIH Finalists at
Grand Finale of SIH��83
Image 3.13: YUGM conclave 2025��84
Image 3.14: Inauguration ceremony in SEMICON 2023��84
Image 3.15: FICCI Bharat R&D Summit 2024��85
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story Table 3.1: List of State/UT government initiatives with focus and outcome��68
Table 5.1: India’s Strategic Positioning in the Key Dimensions��109
Table 5.2 A stylised representation of India’s startup progress using
the 8-dimensional analytical lens��112
Table 5.3 A stylised representation of India’s position in UIG partnership using the
8-dimensional analytical lens��117
Table 5.4 Stylised representation of India’s focus for promoting Inclusive
Innovation in its ecosystem using the analytical lens the 8 dimensions��120
LIST OF TABLES Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India?s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India?s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 1
Introduction
CHAPTER 1 Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 2
The capacity to produce scientific and technological knowledge (S&T) and to convert
this knowledge into innovative products or processes serves as a fundamental driver of
economic growth and development. Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) functions
as a powerful engine that drives productivity, boosts competitiveness, generates
employment opportunities, and provides solutions to societal problems. In the present
century, Science and Technology have been pivotal in shaping the world we live in, and
is going to remain central to our future.
A key catalyst for successful STI exploitation lies in the development of an enabling
Innovation Ecosystem - a complex adaptive dynamic framework/system comprising
interdependent actors, institutions, and networks that collectively enable the generation,
diffusion, and application of knowledge. An enabling ecosystem helps to integrate
research, industry, policy, and societal elements to propel technological progress and
economic development. Not only it supports creation of new knowledge but also
facilitates translation of the knowledge into socio-economic goods.
An innovation ecosystem can be distinguished under the following subsystems:
a. Knowledge Generation and Talent Development: This subsystem involves
the creation and diffusion of scientific and technical knowledge, as well as the
development of human capital. The primary stakeholders are public research
organizations, higher education institutions, and training systems in developing
the skills and capabilities needed for innovation.
b. Commercialization and Resource Mobilisation: This subsystem concerns the
translation of knowledge into marketable products and services, supported
by financial and physical infrastructure. Commercialization occurs within a
broader ecosystem that includes startups, large firms, suppliers, investors, and
distribution channels. Venture capital firms, incubators, and technology parks,
advanced laboratories, and digital platforms that support development,
c. Governance and Policy Framework: Governance encompasses rules, regulations,
and institutional coordination that shape innovation dynamics.
d. Collaboration and Knowledge Flow: This subsystem focuses on networks,
partnerships, and open exchange of knowledge across sectors.
e. Societal and Market Demand: This subsystem reflects the demand-side drivers
of innovation, including user needs, public engagement, and sustainability
imperatives.
A robust innovation ecosystem is a catalyst for development, continually shaping the
economy through new ideas, technologies, and transformative solutions; ensuring
sustainable development, global competitiveness, and an enhanced quality of life for
future generations. This has been the driving force behind human progress, revolutionizing
industries, and everyday life. It underpins major breakthroughs such as the internet,
artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and renewable energy reshaping communication,
healthcare, education, and economic systems. Innovations in automation, space Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 3
exploration, and digital transformation continue to redefine global industries, enhancing
productivity and connectivity.
STI serves as the operational core of an enabling innovation ecosystem for converting
knowledge into economic and social values. However, the distribution of S&T capabilities
remains uneven, creating significant disparities in innovation capacity across regions of
the world. Bridging this gap calls for developing national strategies, bringing the different
stakeholders together for creating an enabling ecosystem. India has been making
systematic efforts through innovative policy, creating different types of institutions
and intermediary organizations that are promoting diverse stakeholders’ engagement.
STI is thus emerging as an essential catalyst for India’s economic advancement and
transformation. India’s increasing emphasis on STI is nurturing new industries, revitalizing
traditional sectors, and establishing the nation as a frontrunner in emerging technologies.
The journey of India in promoting science, technology and innovation started with the
Science policy resolution of 1958. The early approach focused on building capacities
within the scientific institutions through infrastructure development and expected the
knowledge generated to flow into the society. An approach which shows alignment
primarily with the linear science/technology push model of innovations. The Technology
Policy of 1983 directed attention towards technology development. It was primarily
driven by the desire to create indigenous technology competency and technology
development. However, it still followed a linear model of innovation. The Science and
Technology Policy of 2003, tried to integrate science and technology as not distinct
entities but moving towards an ecosystem that promotes intermediary organisations
that can help in translational research. However, there was no marked shift away from
the linear model of innovation.
The STI Policy, 2013 underlined the key role of S&T activities for innovation and
drew attention to sustainable and inclusive development. Post 2014, Innovation,
Entrepreneurship, Inclusive development, and Societal considerations have assumed
the centre stage in policy frameworks. This has led to a shift towards interactive models
of innovation in policy frameworks and institutional structures. The triple helix model is
being strongly promoted through funding support, PPP models, institutional changes
etc. Further, the quadruple helix model is also getting increasingly reflected in policy
discourse with structures created to develop strong civil society engagement.
India’s innovation ecosystem is diverse and can deliver stratified and smooth innovation
and technology delivery subsystems, which can further be pronounced to larger missions
in STI. Despite the distinction between technology delivery and the STI ecosystem, they
both need to be aligned with national agendas to create an ideal stream of fundamental
and emerging ideas. The rise of technology-driven development has been paving the
way for India’s strong STI ecosystem. This emergence can be hastened by highlighting
the importance of aiding the ideation stages while concentrating on new technologies
that require direction and an implementation ecosystem, facilitating greater adoption
of opportunities. Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 4
India’s aspiration to evolve into a Developed India, driven by science, technology, and
innovation, has been articulated by the government through a transformative initiative
referred to as the “Innovation Landscape for Viksit Bharat”. This initiative places a
significant focus on research, entrepreneurship, and skill development, thereby nurturing
an environment where the youth can engage in pioneering discoveries and technological
progress. It underscores India’s technological landscape, which emerges from a rich
tapestry of institutions, ministries, departments, and state councils.
India as a nation is committed to strengthen its innovation ecosystem for the socio-
economic development of the country, as also reflected from the various initiatives
taken at different levels. The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India has in his address on
79
th
Independence Day (15
th
August 2025) highlighted: “India has been reforming,
performing, and transforming, … the government is committed to creating a modern,
efficient, and citizen-friendly ecosystem, where laws, regulations, and processes are
simplified, entrepreneurship is encouraged, and every Indian can contribute to building
a Viksit Bharat. …. These reforms are aimed at creating a supportive ecosystem for
innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic growth.” Emphasizing the role of states,
he called upon the states to build a conducive environment for new ventures- “There
should be competition between states to attract maximum investors. Their policies
should change or mould as per global requirements”. Thus, there is a clear resolve from
the top leadership of the country to put in all possible efforts in Science, Technology
and Innovation to act as the key driver of socio-economic development of the country.
1.1 Motivation
The pursuit of innovation and inclusive development is essential for sustainable
economic growth, social equity, and environmental responsibility. As one of the rapidly
advancing economies globally, India acknowledges that technological progress and
research-oriented solutions are vital for tackling intricate challenges across various
sectors. Innovation serves as a catalyst for industrial transformation, boosts productivity,
and reinforces leadership in global markets, thereby acting as a fundamental engine
of economic expansion. Moreover, fostering inclusive development ensures that the
benefits of innovation reach all societal segments, thereby diminishing inequalities and
creating equitable opportunities for advancement.
India’s approach to innovation is intricately linked with the United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), emphasizing solutions in areas such as renewable energy,
healthcare, digital transformation, and agriculture to address urgent issues like climate
change, food security, and public health. Furthermore, investments in STEM education,
skill enhancement, and research frameworks are empowering the workforce, nurturing a
knowledge-based economy. By bolstering its resilience and adaptability, India is preparing
itself to effectively navigate global disruptions, including pandemics, climate change,
and the rise of new technologies. A robust science, technology, and innovation (STI)
ecosystem is crucial for ongoing economic growth, social inclusion, and technological
independence. Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 5
As India continues to develop its research and development infrastructure, startup
ecosystem, and collaborations between industry and academia, innovation will be
instrumental in shaping the nation’s future, propelling socioeconomic advancement,
technological pre-eminence, and sustainable development. A multi-faceted strategy to
promote a culture of innovation and innovation led growth is now a central component
in India’s progress. Various initiatives and programs, both mission mode ones as well as
institutional interventions, have been shaping India’s innovation story during the last 10
years. India’s decade of innovation has been marked by policy-driven progress, industry-
academia collaboration, and a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Since 2014, India has achieved significant advancements in establishing a robust Science
and Technology Innovation Ecosystem through the creation of extensive support
frameworks, strategic policy measures, and focused initiatives. These endeavours have
notably improved India’s position in global innovation, led to an increase in patent
applications, and bolstered its technological prowess. India is now among the countries
with a very large startup ecosystem. However, there is a need for identifying, analysing,
and characterizing the various initiatives at different levels. Such an effort can create
an environment suitable for building synergies across the innovation ecosystem and
suggest a strategic plan for future efforts for India to emerge as the innovation capital
of the world. A well-integrated innovation-driven strategy can help ensure economic
resilience, enhanced quality of life, and a future-ready society, making inclusive and
sustainable development a global priority. This serves as the primary motivation behind
this work.
1.2 Objectives
This report is an attempt to present an overview of innovation systems and structures
created in India during the last ten years, to assess their impact measured in terms on
international benchmarks, to analyse and characterise them, to identify major challenges
and gaps, and to suggest steps and initiatives to be taken as we prepare to take the road
ahead.
In a sense it can also serve as a form of compendium or a knowledge repository
consolidating key insights in the Indian innovation ecosystem, particularly focusing on
the initiatives and support structures created for the purpose during the last 10 years. It
provides stakeholders with a structured overview of innovation frameworks, trends, and
initiatives at multiple levels across the country. India’s innovation story as reflected in
various international benchmarks is also looked into to get a sense of the impact of the
various initiatives taken. The report then attempts to characterize the different initiatives
in the quest to identify the systemic features of different initiatives.
An attempt is made to identify major challenges and gaps in the Indian innovation
ecosystem. Finally, a strategic roadmap for the future of the Indian innovation journey
is presented comprising actionable insights. By enabling informed decision-making,
the report will aim to strengthen innovation ecosystems, fostering technological self-
reliance, economic advancement, and sustainable development. Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 6
“Innovation and Entrepreneurship are key drivers of Economic Growth, Social
Progress, and Environmental Sustainability in the 21
st
Century.”
Innovation serves as a catalyst for industrial transformation, boosts productivity, and
reinforces leadership in global markets, thereby acting as a fundamental engine of
economic expansion. The pursuit of innovation and inclusive development is essential for
sustainable economic growth, social equity, and environmental responsibility. Different
countries across the world have followed varied approaches to innovation, which to
some extent has also guided their economic growth and overall development. Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India?s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India?s Innovation Story 7
Defining Innovation
Ecosystem
CHAPTER 2 Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 8
2.1 Defining Innovation
There are many ways of understanding Innovation. Centrality of the Innovation concept comes
from the initial works of Joseph Schumpeter
1
who argued that Innovation is the fundamental
economic force, constantly reshaping the economy. Schumpeter drew a sharp distinction
between Innovation and Invention; Invention as the discovery of new knowledge or technology
whereas Innovation is the economic application of inventions or ideas to create value.
Schumpeter, who is regarded as one of the most influential scholars in the field of innovation
and economic development, defined Innovation as the carrying out of new combinations that
disrupt economic equilibrium and drive development. These are not mere improvements but
fundamental changes that transform how resources are used in the economy. Drawing from
empirical observations, Schumpeter argued that every time an innovation (new product,
process, business model) appears, it disrupts existing technologies, firms, and markets [Creative
Destruction]. The old ways of doing things are destroyed or made obsolete. This destruction
makes space for new growth, productivity, and industries.
Schumpeter did not limit innovation to technological innovation; rather categorized
innovation into five types namely:
(i) New products (introduction of a new good - something consumers are not
yet familiar with, or a new quality of a good);
(ii) New methods of production;
(iii) Opening of New markets;
(iv) New sources of supply, and
(v) New organisational forms that include creation or destruction of monopolies,
institutional arrangements that change the structure of industry or competition, etc.
A stylised representation of the Schumpeter

innovation model
1
is shown in Fig 2.1.
Figure 2.1: Economic changes under the Schumpeter’s Innovation model
Within this understanding, Schumpeter defined Entrepreneur as the key agent of
change which introduces these “new combinations” into the economic system, helping Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 9
to translate ideas into practice. Thus, Innovation, in practical terms, can be understood
as the translation of an idea (invention) into practice; as the process of creating,
improving, or applying new ideas, technologies, or methods to solve problems,
enhance efficiency, and drive progress. The GII Report of 2025, in its Appendix I, also
attempted to put forward a definition for innovation, attributed to the Oslo Manual 2018,
which states that “an innovation is a new or improved product or process (or combination
thereof) that differs significantly from the unit’s previous products or processes and that
has been made available to potential users (product) or brought into use by the unit
(process
2
)”.
Innovation can take various forms incremental, disruptive, or radical and spans across
industries, from healthcare and technology to business and social development. The
landscape of innovation has transitioned from the mechanization characteristic of the
Industrial Revolution to a contemporary economy that is intricately linked through
digital technologies. From Joseph Schumpeter’s perspective, industrial revolutions can
be understood as massive waves of “Creative destruction” driven by clusters of radical
innovations. However, later innovation studies drew attention to incremental innovation,
highlighting that within each revolution, countless incremental innovations enabled the
scaling, diffusion, and optimization of those breakthroughs.
The Industrial Revolution (18
th
-19
th
century) marked the beginning of large-scale
technological and economic transformation, fostering a culture of mechanisation,
automation, and industrial progress. Innovations such as the steam engine, mechanized
textile production, and mass manufacturing revolutionized industries, increasing
productivity and global trade. The Second Industrial Revolution (19th-20th century)
introduced electricity, automobiles, and telecommunication, laying the foundation for
modern infrastructure. The 20
th
century saw unprecedented advancements with the
rise of computing, aerospace, biotechnology, and the internet, fuelling globalization
and knowledge-based economies. The shift from industrial-based economies to digital-
driven economies has positioned science driven technology at the core of innovation.
Innovation and entrepreneurship have been fundamental drivers of every industrial
revolution, shaping economies and transforming societies. Each wave of industrial
advancement has led to disruptive economic shifts, fostering wealth creation, increased
productivity, and improved living standards.
The ongoing Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) is characterised by the
emergence of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain,
quantum computing, and biotechnology etc., leading to a paradigm shift in industries
and global economies. It builds on previous industrial revolutions but is characterized by
the blurring of boundaries between the physical, digital, and biological spheres, enabled
by Cyber-Physical Systems that integrate real-world processes with computational
intelligence. These advancements are not only revolutionising traditional sectors but also
creating new opportunities for sustainable growth and digital transformation. Innovation
also plays a pivotal role in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) by driving technological solutions across multiple sectors, including healthcare,
clean energy, education, and smart infrastructure. Research and innovation are deeply
2
OECD/Eurostat, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264304604-en Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 10
embedded across SDG targets, ensuring progress towards a more inclusive, resilient,
and sustainable future.
2.2 Innovation Models and Dynamics
In order to facilitate effective strategies to promote innovation in the Indian institutional
ecosystem, it will be important to understand the historical models of innovation. Different
models of innovation have emerged mainly to explain empirical phenomena - meaning,
what was actually happening in the real world of firms, industries, and economies. This
has helped to shape STI policy and strategies for creating an enabling ecosystem for
supporting research and innovation. Broadly speaking, there are six major generations
of models for describing the interactions between the major and minor stakeholders in
an economy. As the global understanding of Innovation as a process improved, so have
these models from a linear to a more complex systemic approach involving several factors
both intrinsic and extrinsic to the ecosystem (Rothwell, 1994
3
; Marinova and Phillimore,
2003
4
; Tidd, 2006
5
; Berkout et al., 2006
6
). Traditional innovation models often followed
a linear approach to the process of innovation. Two of the dominant linear models are
Technology Push Model (Science Push) and Market Pull Model (Demand Pull).
The Technology push model assumes a step-by-step sequence of discovery to
application; scientific research leading to technological development, culminating
in marketable innovations (Bush 1945). This model emerged from early empirical
observation (1950s-60s) in the USA that showed that many innovations (e.g., in defence,
aerospace) started from government-funded basic research. On the other hand, studies
also showed many innovations often started from practical problems or market needs,
not basic research. This led to the “demand-pull” model that posits that the market
signals the development of new technologies based on its demand, which then guides
scientific inquiry.
New empirical research during the 1980s pointed out that successful innovations involved
complex feedback loops. This led to more advanced models of innovation proposing
a non-linear framework emphasizing on the iterative and interconnected nature of
innovation processes; learning-driven, and networked processes. The Chain-Linked
Model, for instance, illustrates multiple feedback loops between different stages of the
innovation process, highlighting that innovation often involves revisiting and refining
earlier steps based on new insights and challenges. A successful innovation was the
outcome of many cycles of design failure, addressing science challenges, feedback from
operational testing of the prototypes, and revisits to basic research before successful
production.
System models, particularly the Innovation System Framework further expanded this
perspective by considering the broader environment, including various networks
and institutions that influence and support innovation activities. The key aspects of
this framework are that Innovation is an Interactive process; and Institutions serve as
instruments to promote interactions between various actors. The Innovation System
Framework can be distinguished primarily under four analytical units namely: National
Innovation System (NIS), Regional Innovation System (RIS), Sectoral Innovation System Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 11
(SIS), and Technological Innovation System (TIS). This distinction is important as
otherwise policies risk being too general or misaligned with the actual needs of sectors
or regions or technology. The analytical units complement and reinforce each other and
the strong interactions between them is reflected in a robust STI ecosystem.
Within the broader Innovation System, The Triple Helix model focuses on the interactions
between the three key institutional spheres University, Industry and Government. It can be
distinguished under three types (models) namely the ‘Statist Model’, ‘Laissez-Faire’, and
the ‘Hybrid Triple Helix’ model. The Statist model is a government dominated structure,
a Top-Down centralised model with innovation driven by the government controlling
and directing innovation. The other configuration is the Laissez-Faire model where each
of the actors performs its traditional functions independently with minimum overlaps.
The most desirable model is the Hybrid Triple-Helix Model in which there are dynamic
interactions among the three actors- universities, industries, and governments. In a
Hybrid Triple Helix model, the three actors increasingly assume overlapping roles such
as universities engaging in entrepreneurship firms in basic research, and government in
venture funding and R&D cooperation. As the STI ecosystem evolves and becomes more
robust, we see a shift towards the Hybrid Triple structure.
The Quadruple Helix model extends the Triple Helix by adding a fourth helix, the Civil
Society. The inclusion of civil society that includes media, culture, and citizens is a
recognition of the role of civil society in shaping innovation. It is an acknowledgement
of the critical influence of societal needs and public engagement in shaping innovation
outcomes. This inclusion reflects a more holistic approach, where public opinion,
cultural contexts, and media play integral roles in the innovation ecosystem. The role of
Government becomes highly influential in bringing civil society in the innovation process;
ensuring that innovation aligns with societal needs, inclusiveness, and sustainability.
An inclusive Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) ecosystem
reflects a Quadruple Helix model exhibiting strong linkages between the
four-helix: university, industry, government, and civil society
Shorter technology lifecycle, innovation becoming more expensive, and risky, many
innovations developed within a firm not able to successfully translate into products,
saw emergence of a new model adopted by some firms. They were sourcing external
knowledge to enhance internal innovation (inbound processes), and— allowing internally
developed ideas to flow outward for external use through licensing, partnerships, or spin-
offs (outbound processes). Thus, firms were not relying solely on in-house research and
development (‘closed innovation’), firms were actively collaborating with universities,
startups, customers, suppliers, and even competitors to co-create and commercialize
innovations. This changing approach was captured by Chesbrough (2003) who termed
this as the Open Innovation model. Open Innovation has emerged as one of the key
drivers of a successful Triple Helix and Quadruple Helix ecosystem. Figure 2.2 highlights
the innovation models discussed. Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 12
Figure 2.2: Categorisation of different models of Innovation Process
2.3 Creating an Enabling Ecosystem for Innovation
Innovation ecosystems are multifaceted networks that bring together various stakeholders—
including academia, industry, government, and civil society—to collaboratively drive
the development and diffusion of new ideas, technologies, and processes. The major
stakeholders of an innovation ecosystem primarily can be delineated as follows:
a. Academic Institutions: Universities and research organizations serve as the bedrock
of innovation ecosystems by conducting foundational research and nurturing talent.
Their role in generating new knowledge and fostering critical thinking is indispensable
for technological and social advancements. The science driven technologies that are
shaping new innovations have translated the traditional role of academia to become
one of the key players in bringing new innovations, startups emerging from academia,
academia-industry partnerships in co-development of new technologies and innovations,
etc.
b. Industry: Businesses, ranging from startups to multinational corporations, translate
academic research into marketable products and services. They provide practical
applications for theoretical concepts, driving economic growth and addressing
consumer needs. The increasing influence of science in making innovations successful is
reshaping Industry engagement with academia. More instances of partnerships between
industry and academia are happening such as for scaling up technologies emerging from
universities, co-development of technologies in niche areas, creating new opportunities
for university spin-offs etc.
c. Government: Evolving technology landscape is motivating new forms of engagement
which calls for policy frameworks that enable stronger linkages among diverse Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 13
stakeholders. This is leading to more active involvement of the government for creating
new regulations in emerging technologies, addressing more effectively the market
demand, creating science technology parks, knowledge clusters etc. This changing role
is helping in fostering a new wave of innovations and today’s most pressing needs.
d. Civil Society: Non-profits, community organisations, and the general public ensure
that innovation aligns with societal values and needs. Their involvement fosters citizen
participation, citizen science and deeper societal engagements. They are the key drivers
of frugal and grassroot innovations addressing social challenges through innovative
solutions.
The synergy among these stakeholders is crucial for a thriving innovation ecosystem.
For instance, incubators and accelerators provide supportive environments for
startups, offering physical spaces and shared resources that facilitate idea exchange
and technological development. Such collaborative platforms exemplify how diverse
actors can work together to drive innovation. The interplay among academia, industry,
government, and civil society forms the foundation of innovation ecosystems. Their
collaborative efforts are essential for fostering environments where new ideas and
technologies can flourish, ultimately leading to societal and economic advancements.
For organizations to achieve meaningful and scalable innovation, they must cultivate
a holistic ecosystem that integrates values, structural flexibility, systematic processes,
employee motivation, technological tools, and an inspiring corporate culture.
Innovation ecosystems are thus an outcome of the combination of key enablers that
collectively foster the development and dissemination of new ideas, technologies,
and processes. Understanding of the Innovation models and enablers have guided
the development of the STI ecosystem by framing suitable policies and strategies for
implementation. A robust innovation ecosystem is underpinned by a confluence of
enablers, including supportive political frameworks, skilled human capital, financial and
infrastructural support, intermediary organizations, and a culture conducive to innovation.
Recognizing and strengthening these enablers can significantly enhance the capacity
for innovation and drive sustainable economic growth. Different types of knowledge,
capability and skills, financial resources among others are needed to translate the idea
into practice.
A successful innovation ecosystem is embedded within a larger enabling environment
that supports knowledge creation, collaboration, entrepreneurship, and market access.
It also helps to address risks associated with market demand, business, technology,
organization, network, volatility of government policies and regulations. A broader
enabling ecosystem comprises supportive policies, institutions, infrastructure, financial
systems, and a culture that fosters innovation and risk-taking. A stylized representation
of the key components of an enabling ecosystem are highlighted in Figure 2.3. Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 14
Figure 2.3: Key Components of an enabling ecosystem
This conceptualization of the components of the enabling system is one of the central
pieces of the analysis presented in this report. The different missions, schemes, and
initiatives of the level of central and the state governments are looked at through this
analytical lens. At the same time, an analytical characterization of the various initiatives is
undertaken with the objective of identifying challenges and gaps in the Indian innovation
ecosystem and the steps to be taken as we take the road ahead. Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India?s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India?s Innovation Story 15
The Indian Innovation
Ecosystem
CHAPTER 3 Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 16
The Indian Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) ecosystem consists of multiple
subsystems at the levels of centre and states, sectors, technologies etc. with different
ministries, departments, industries, state governments and communities playing
important roles in shaping the innovation ecosystem. Over the past decade or so, the
approach and strategies of several of these subsystems have contributed to promote
innovation driven growth. New policy mechanisms are being created to address the
different components of an enabling ecosystem with a strong focus on promoting
partnerships with the different stakeholders.
As a result of a collective of such efforts, significant progress has occurred as reflected
in India’s performance across several international benchmarks. These include, the
Global Innovation Index, where India’s position improved from 81 in 2015 to 38 in 2025
among 139 economies;
7
and the Bloomberg Innovation Index 2021, where it is the only
South Asian Country among the top 50 (and the position improved from 54
th
in 2019 to
50th in 2021 among 95 countries).
8
India has excelled in generating knowledge, being
among the top 5 in terms of research publications. It is ranked 6
th
in terms of Intellectual
Property Filings with more than 1,00,000 patents granted by the Indian Patent Office
between 2023 to 2024.
9
India is the world’s third largest startup hub with more than
1,57,000 registered startups, and more than 100 of them becoming Unicorns.
10

This chapter attempts to present and highlight some of the major initiatives undertaken
by the government and other actors to create an enabling ecosystem for innovation.
In Section 3.1, the key policies, schemes and initiatives of the Indian Government that
focused on promoting innovation are presented. Thereafter, in Section 3.2, a broad
overview of State level policies and initiatives contributing to capacity building and
strengthening the National Innovation ecosystem is provided. Some of the initiatives
are highlighted to provide a glimpse, while a more detailed account of the state level
interventions can be found in the India Innovation Index of NITI Aayog.
11
Section 3.3
highlights some of the important innovation programs led by the Industry and Industry
Associations. At the same time, there are several examples of innovations coming from
grassroots inventors—ordinary individuals within communities (including those in rural
or resource-limited areas) which have received hand-holding and support from targeted
initiatives and schemes. Accordingly, some examples of schemes to promote grassroots
and societal innovation activity are discussed in Section 3.4. These initiatives cover
multiple sectors, target specific beneficiaries, and achieve set objectives with many of
them having overlapping or homologous approaches and objectives. The final Section
3.5 lists some of the recent major events and activities in the innovation space organized
by government, industry bodies and other entities. Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 17
3.1 National Initiatives to promote Innovation
The role of government in establishing as well as strengthening an enabling innovation
ecosystem has become critically important in the current era of knowledge-based and
innovation-driven economies. The innovation models highlight the changing role of
the government, acting as a bridge and partner in successful translations of research
to commercialisation. Its role in promoting inclusive and sustainable innovation and
bringing the different stakeholders together are underscored. In the last decade or
so, one can see a strategic shift in Indian government policy; introducing a range of
policies and initiatives to foster a culture of creativity, technological advancement, and
entrepreneurship. These efforts span across ministries and sectors, integrating research,
education, industry, and community development. A good example of the Indian
government’s enabling role is the creation of India’s Digital Payment platform that has
led to a surge in fintech innovation and financial inclusion.
For clarity of presentation and understanding, the major initiatives of the government of
India can be categorised under following four categories:
(i) Mission mode initiatives which are implemented across domains, ministries, and
sectors. Examples of these are Atal Innovation Mission, Startup India, Make In India,
and several national missions in areas like solar, supercomputing, biotechnology,
semiconductor, skill development, natural language translation, deep ocean
exploration etc.
(ii) Important interventions by ministries and departments which are aimed at
promoting Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Examples of these are initiatives and
focused programs of DST, DBT, DPIIT, DSIR, MeitY, MoE, MSME etc.
(iii) Intermediary and facilitative organisations focused on promoting STI,
Entrepreneurship and grassroots innovations. Examples of these are, BIRAC, NIF,
NCSM, TBIs, Knowledge Parks, TDB, and several CoEs established across the country.
These also include initiatives to foster community and individual innovations and
support to scale up these innovations.
(iv) The Support structures created at academic and research organisations for
Science, Technology & Innovation. Examples of these include different programs
like INSPIRE, IMPRINT, COEs, Tech Parks etc.
Together these initiatives address the various aspects of the innovation ecosystem and
contribute to developing different components of the enabling ecosystem.
3.1.1 System wide Mission Mode Initiatives Focused at promoting innovation activities
Some of the most well-known initiatives include the Startup India, Atal Innovation
Mission, Make in India, National Missions (Solar, Quantum, Interdisciplinary Cyber
Physical Systems, Super Computing, Semiconductor etc.), Digital India (Aadhar, Bhasini,
Digi Locker, UPI, IndiaStack etc.). Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 18
(i) Atal Innovation Mission: A multi-level initiative to develop innovation ecosystem
The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) was launched in 2016 by the Government of India
under NITI Aayog (www.aim.gov.in). Its core objective was to foster a culture of
innovation and entrepreneurship across the country. It aimed to create a structured and
scalable innovation ecosystem, by promoting innovation at all levels, from schools and
universities to research institutions and startups. To this end, the main interventions
under AIM include the establishment of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) to encourage
innovation at institutional level, Atal Incubation Centers (AICs) for supporting technology
development, deployment, and commercialization; and Atal Community Innovation
Centers (ACICs) to build a robust innovation ecosystem in unserved areas and engage
communities. While these centres act as hubs of activity providing necessary enabling
infrastructure to innovators, several programs focused at assisting innovators were
also started. These include, the Language Inclusive Program of Innovation (LIPI) to
assist innovators who do not use English, Applied Research and Innovation for Small
Enterprises (ARISE) Challenges, Atal New India Challenges etc.
Figure 3.1: AIM initiatives and their target system
(Source: Adopted from the AIM website)
AIM has made significant strides with a strong emphasis on education, technology, and
grassroots innovations. It has mobilised over 6200 mentors of change and facilitated
development of more than 60 domestic and 20 international partnerships between Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 19
public-private institutions. The figure below is an indicative representation of the major
achievements of AIM.
Figure 3.2: Major Achievements of the Initiatives of AIM (updated upto 2024)
(ii) Startup India
One of the flagship programs of Govt. of India, the Startup India Initiative, launched in
2016, aimed to create a robust startup culture by providing mentorship, funding access,
and regulatory support (www.startupindia.gov.in). It was implemented through an Action
Plan
12
which had components focused on providing support to startups. This included
enhancing infrastructure such as incubation centres, making patent filing easier along
with IPR facilitation services and conducive regulatory environment. The Department
for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has also established the Startup
India portal to provide a networking database for stakeholders, and a query resolution
service was also set up.
New innovative financing models have been designed and implemented. To this end an
economic stimulus of Rs. 10,000 crore as fund of funds for startups (FFS) was established
in 2016 managed by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). It is a financial
instrument where a government or anchor investor invests in venture capital (VC) or
private equity (PE) funds, which in turn invest in startups or companies. The investment
by VC or PE is in terms of equity capital implying the investor gets ownership stakes in
the startups where they invest. The government is setting up a new Fund of Funds (FFS)
with Rs. 10,000 crore corpus. This additional capital infusion in the startup ecosystem
is envisaged to promote increase in new ventures and the development of high growth
entities. Several government policies were also started following the startup India
mission to support startups and foster entrepreneurship. Some key initiatives include,
Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), which offers financial assistance to early-
stage startups for product development and market entry. It provides support for Proof
of Concept, Prototype Development, and Product trails.
12
https://www.startupindia.gov.in/content/dam/invest-india/Templates/public/Action%20
Plan.pdf Pathways To Progress:
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Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 20
The Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) is a key enabler for
startups to cross the Valley of death.
Startup India portal is a very useful point of entry for startups. It also has IDEA
Bank– a curated collection of problem statements and sector challenges designed
to spark startup ideas. Another enabling portal is the MAARG (Mentorship, Advisory,
Assistance, Resilience, and Growth) portal. It is a centralized digital platform enabling
DPIIT-recognized startups to connect with mentors—academicians, industry experts,
seasoned investors, successful founders—for personalized guidance throughout their
lifecycle. Startup India has an accelerator program “StartupShala”—a structured 3‑month
mentorship and growth initiative run through the Startup India platform designed
specifically for DPIIT-recognized, early-stage startups.
The Startup India programme is thus building a comprehensive and supportive
ecosystem that addresses various dimensions essential for nurturing startups. The
various dimensions of support are highlighted in the figure below.
Figure 3.3: Components in the Startup India Initiative
These policies along with several other initiatives by different ministries, organisations and
state governments have significantly contributed to India’s thriving startup ecosystem
with over 1.59 lakh DPIIT-recognized startups until May 2025, making it the third-largest
globally. Overall, the Startup India Initiative, spans across different disciplines and sectors
of the economy. It can be seen as a call to action, in response to which, several important
actors have become active and engaged in innovation activities. The impact of Startup
India is such that it has become synonymous with innovation activities. However, it is
necessary that a distinction is made between the two, as though startups have a major
role in commercialisation of innovations, many more basic R & D activities ought to be
supported and facilitated to build a strong innovation system for the country. Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 21
(iii) Make in India
This initiative provides an umbrella framework to promote manufacturing capabilities in
different sectors. Launched in 2014, it was aimed at transforming the country into a global
hub for manufacturing, innovation, and investment across sectors including automobiles,
electronics, pharmaceuticals, textiles, renewable energy, defence manufacturing etc.
Through this mission, the government started actively encouraging domestic and
international companies to manufacture their products in India. Make in India placed
special attention to promoting manufacturing processes which harness regional strengths,
promote sustainable entrepreneurship, and foster inclusive technological growth across
the Indian states. Several steps have been taken to promote high quality local production
and to create a favourable market for them.
Image 3.1: Make In India Initiative meeting with PM Sh. Narendra Modi
(Source: www.pmindia.gov.in/en/major_initiatives/make-in-india/)
Figure 3.4: Major initiatives of Make in India
(Source: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressNoteDetails.aspx?NoteId=153203&ModuleId=3) Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 22
Achievements of the mission were primarily in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
of $667.41 billion between 2014 and 2024; significant improvement in the regulatory
and financial regimes, improving the Ease of Doing Business on the basis of which India
made a big jump in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking, moving from 142
in 2014 to 63 in 2020. The revised focus on indigenous manufacturing resulted in India
becoming the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world and a significant
growth happened in electronics and defence manufacturing. The electronics sector
grew significantly, with production doubling from $48 billion in 2017 to $101 billion in
2023. India was able to produce world-class naval aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, marking
a major step toward reducing dependence on imports and achieving self-reliance in
defence. India’s exports hit $437.06 billion in 2023-24, thanks to sectors like electronics,
pharmaceuticals, and automotive.
(iv) Research, Development and Innovation Fund
The Research, Development and Innovation Fund is the most recent program initiated
by the government. The Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sanctioned
the Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) Scheme on July 1, 2025, allocating a
funding corpus of `1 lakh crore to enhance R&D and innovation in emerging and strategic
category-wise sectors such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, biotechnology,
quantum technologies, and digital agriculture and is being finalized.
This scheme aims to address significant funding deficiencies, support projects with
high Technology Readiness Levels (TRL), and facilitate the acquisition of essential
technologies, thereby reinforcing India’s innovation ecosystem and promoting self-
reliance in advanced fields. It establishes a two-tier funding framework, wherein a Special
Purpose Fund (SPF) under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) will
oversee the corpus, with funds being allocated through second-level fund managers,
including Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), Development Finance Institutions (DFIs),
and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs).
This RDI scheme is proposed with a total corpus of `1 lakh crore, all of which is expected
to be in the form of budgetary support and will be implemented via constitution of a
Special Purpose Fund (SPF) within the ANRF. This will be the 1
st
level Fund Manager,
which shall receive a 50-year interest free loan. Additionally, the scheme suggests the
establishment of a Deep-Tech Fund of Funds, aimed at accelerating innovation in critical
technologies and enhancing India’s competitiveness on a global scale.
By concentrating on translational research, commercialization, and the scaling of
innovations, the RDI Scheme seeks to overcome the “valley of death” in the innovation
lifecycle, encourage private-sector-led R&D, and expedite the implementation of
advanced solutions in vital sectors. The detailed sets of operational guidelines of the
program are being created.
(v) National Technology Missions
Several national level mission mode programmes have been launched by the
government in key sectors of national importance, including in the areas of new and
emerging technologies. These mission mode programmes have provided significant Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 23
thrust towards building necessary infrastructure, expertise and knowledge creation
in areas such as supercomputing, quantum technology, Biotechnology, solar power
generation, semiconductor industry, and digital transformations etc. The major mission
mode projects are as follows:
(a) National Supercomputing Mission
The National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) was launched in 2015 with the
goal to connect national academic and R&D (research and development)
institutions. It is creating a grid of over 70 high-performance computing
facilities, which would enable India to leapfrog to the league of world-class
computing power nations at an estimated cost of Rs. 4,500 crore over a
period of 7 years. In Supercomputing, India was ranked at 74 globally and had
only 9 supercomputers out of more than 500 in the world. NSM intended to
attain global competitiveness and ensure self-reliance in the strategic area of
supercomputing technology.

Figure 3.5: Illustrating components of National Supercomputing Mission
(Source: https://www.indiandefensenews.in/2022/05/meet-param-shankh-
indias-new-indigenous.html)
The application areas considered include: Climate Modelling, Weather Prediction,
Aerospace Engineering, Computational Biology, Molecular Dynamics, Atomic
Energy Simulations, National Security/ Defence Applications, Seismic Analysis,
Disaster Simulations and Management, Computational Chemistry, Computational
Material Science and Nanomaterials, Astrophysics, Large Complex Systems
Simulations, Cyber Physical Systems, Big Data Analytics, Finance, Information
repositories/ Government Information Systems etc. NSM has enabled the
development of Indigenous supercomputers, contributing towards self-reliance
in the strategic area. As of March 2025, 34 supercomputers have been deployed
under the NSM at various academic and research institutions including IITs,
IISc, and others. Pathways To Progress:
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Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 24
(b) Digital India Initiative
The Digital India Initiative was launched in the year 2015 with the objective
of providing government services electronically to citizens through improved
online infrastructure and connectivity. Digital India Initiative is mainly focused
on three areas:
(a) Providing digital infrastructure as a source of utility to every citizen;
(b) Governance and services on demand, and (c) To look after the digital
empowerment of every citizen.
The Digital India initiative is built on nine key pillars that aim to transform India
into a digitally empowered society. These pillars include Broadband Highways,
Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity, Public Internet Access Programme,
e-Governance: Reforming Government through Technology, e-Kranti -
Electronic Delivery of Services, Information for All, Electronics Manufacturing,
IT for Jobs, and Early Harvest Programmes.
Figure 3.6: The 9 Pillars of Digital India initiative for transforming India
(Source: https://www.digitalindia.gov.in/our-pillars/)
Figure 3.7: Some Components developed under the Digital India Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 25
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in collaboration
with the National e-Governance Division (NeGD), has played a pivotal role
in advancing technological innovation and enhancing citizen-centric service
delivery in India. Through flagship initiatives such as Aadhaar, DigiLocker, and
several other digital platforms, MeitY has significantly contributed to building
a robust digital infrastructure that empowers communities, promotes ease
of access to public services, and fosters an inclusive digital economy. These
initiatives exemplify the government’s commitment to leveraging technology
for innovation, transparency, and efficient service delivery across the nation.
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) an Indian Instant Payment Interface launched
in 2016 has enabled digitalization of day to day civic, financial, administrative
services for the citizens.
API Setu, MeriPehchaan – National Single Sign-On (NSSO), The MeitY Quantum
Computing Applications Lab, OpenForge (platform for open collaborative
development of e-governance applications), UX4G, AAINA-Dashboard for
Cities are some of the important projects on in which significant activities
are happening under the Digital India Mission in order to develop the national
digital infrastructure.
13
(c) National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS)
Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) consist of both computational and physical
processes integrated to work in synergy specially focused on Human-Computer
Interactions. Technologies such as Cybernetics, Internet of Things, AI and their
applications in products such as Self Driving Cars, Drones, Smart Home Sensors
and systems etc. are categorised as CPS. As these technologies are rapidly
becoming common, there was a need to create an ecosystem for them. To
address this requirement, a five-year plan was formulated and approved in
2018. The NM-ICPS, implemented by DST has a total outlay of Rs. 3,660 Crores
to coordinate and integrate nationwide efforts specifically in translational
research in CPS. Three categories of hubs, namely, Technology Innovation Hubs
(TIH), Application Innovation Hubs (AIH) and Technology Translation Research
Parks (TTRP) were proposed to be established.
It was a comprehensive mission which engaged with various ministries and
departments of the government and identified their requirements in terms of
technology solutions and support needed. It aimed at complete convergence
with all stakeholders by establishing strong linkages between academia,
industry, Government and International Organizations. The Mission aimed
at development of technology platforms to carry out R&D, Translational
Research, Product Development, Incubating & Supporting Start-ups as well as
Commercialization. Under the NM-ICPS, 25 Technology Innovation Hubs (TIHs)
have been established in reputed institutes across the country. Each hub is a
Section-8 Company, an independent entity within a Host Institute and has been
assigned a Technology Vertical in the areas of advanced technologies which
includes: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Robotics, Cyber Security,
13
https://dic.gov.in/digital-infrastructure/ Pathways To Progress:
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Pathways To Progress:
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Data Analytics & Predictive Technologies, Intelligent Collaboration Systems,
Technologies for Agriculture & Water, Technologies for Mining, Advanced
Communication System, Quantum Technologies etc.
The mission has achieved success in several fields, with some notable success
stories in form of A drone swarm lighting display (Botlabs Dynamics), India’s
first commercial chip for secure IoT environments, Digital Entomologist (Awadh
at IIT Ropar), 24/7 IT-OT Security Operations Center (SOC) for NHAI (C3iHub
IIT Kanpur), and India’s first testbed for autonomous navigation for aerial and
ground systems. Overall, more than 1500 new technologies and products have
been developed, and 900 startups have evolved with assistance from the NM-
ICPS underlining its success in creating an ecosystem for CPS research and
development in India (www.nmicps.in). The mission has been extended up to
December 2027 to further strengthen the CPS ecosystem.
(d) National Biotechnology Development Strategy (2021–2025)
The National Biotechnology Development Strategy (2021–2025), aims to position
India as a global leader in bio-innovation. It is focused on bringing academia and
industry together, and creating an enabling ecosystem for bio-manufacturing,
research, and entrepreneurship. Biotechnology has emerged as a vital catalyst
for innovation in India, making significant contributions to advancements in
healthcare, agriculture, environmental sustainability, and industrial processes.
The different programs under NBDS reflect India’s strategic commitment
to advancing biotechnology innovation as a driver of economic growth and
societal impact.
14
The field of biotechnology is grounded in interdisciplinary
research, and merges life sciences with cutting-edge technologies such as
genomics, synthetic biology, and bioinformatics, facilitating the creation of
cost-effective and scalable solutions that address national priorities.
(e) Indian Semiconductor Mission
The India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) was initiated in 2021 by the Government
of India, under the aegis of MeitY. It has a financial investment of `76,000
crore committed towards creating a self-sufficient electronics industry with
cutting edge R&D capacity, chip design capabilities, and strong international
collaborations. This will strengthen India’s position in the semiconductor market,
and help it in becoming a key player in the global semiconductor supply chain
(https://ism.gov.in/).
The main objectives of ISM included a long-term strategy for development of
a sustainable ecosystem for design and manufacturing of semiconductor and
display units, along with a trusted semiconductor supply chain and supporting
semiconductor design startups with Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools,
foundry services and other suitable mechanisms for early-stage startups.
Objectives of ISM are as under:
(i) Formulate a comprehensive long-term strategy for developing sustainable
semiconductors and display manufacturing facilities and semiconductor
14
https://dbtindia.gov.in/sites/default/files/NBDS_March%202021.pdf Pathways To Progress:
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Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 27
design eco-system in the country in consultation with the Government
ministries / departments / agencies, industry, and academia.
(ii) Facilitate the adoption of secure microelectronics and developing trusted
semiconductor supply chain, including raw materials, specialty chemicals,
gases, and manufacturing equipment.
(iii) Enable a multi-fold growth of Indian semiconductor design industry by
providing requisite support in the form of Electronic Design Automation
(EDA) tools, foundry services and other suitable mechanisms for early-
stage startups.
(iv) Promote and facilitate indigenous Intellectual Property (IP) generation.
(v) Encourage, enable and incentivize Transfer of Technologies (ToT).
(vi) Establish suitable mechanisms to harness economies of scale in the Indian
semiconductor and display industry.
(vii) Enable cutting-edge research in semiconductors and display industry
including evolutionary and revolutionary technologies through grants,
global collaborations and other mechanisms in academia / research
institutions, industry, and through establishing Centres of Excellence
(CoEs).
(viii) Enable collaborations and partnership programs with national and
international agencies, industries and institutions for catalyzing
collaborative research, commercialization and skill development.
Following four schemes have been introduced under the aforesaid programme:
(i) ‘Modified Scheme for setting up of Semiconductor Fabs in India’ for
attracting large investments for setting up semiconductor wafer fabrication
facilities in the country to strengthen the electronics manufacturing
ecosystem and help establish a trusted value chain. The Scheme extends a
fiscal support of 50% of the project cost on pari-passu basis for setting up
of Silicon CMOS based Semiconductor Fab in India.
(ii) ‘Modified Scheme for setting up of Display Fabs in India’ for attracting
large investments for manufacturing TFT LCD or AMOLED based display
panels in the country to strengthen the electronics manufacturing
ecosystem. Scheme extends fiscal support of 50% of Project Cost on pari-
passu basis for setting up of Display Fabs in India.
(iii) ‘Modified Scheme for setting up of Compound Semiconductors / Silicon
Photonics / Sensors Fab / Discrete Semiconductors Fab and Semiconductor
Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) / OSAT facilities in
India’ shall extend a fiscal support of 50% of the Capital Expenditure on
Pari-passu basis for setting up of Compound Semiconductors / Silicon
Photonics (SiPh) / Sensors (including MEMS) Fab/ Discrete Semiconductor
Fab and Semiconductor ATMP / OSAT facilities in India. Pathways To Progress:
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(iv) ‘Semicon India Future Design: Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme’
offers financial incentives, design infrastructure support across various
stages of development and deployment of semiconductor design for
Integrated Circuits (ICs), Chipsets, System on Chips (SoCs), Systems & IP
Cores and semiconductor linked design. The scheme provides “Product
Design Linked Incentive” of up to 50% of the eligible expenditure subject
to a ceiling of `15 Crore per application and “Deployment Linked Incentive”
of 6% to 4% of net sales turnover over 5 years subject to a ceiling of `30
Crore per application.
(f) National Quantum Mission
15
Led by interdisciplinary teams of scientists, engineers, and policymakers, the
mission seeks to accelerate the development and deployment of quantum
technologies across various sectors, including healthcare, finance, defence,
and beyond. At its core, the National Quantum Mission embodies a strategic
commitment to advancing fundamental research, fostering collaboration
between academia, industry, and government agencies, and nurturing a skilled
workforce capable of leading in the quantum era. It is a nationwide initiative
driving cutting-edge advancements in quantum technology.

Figure 3.8: Focus areas of Quantum Computing Mission
(Source: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2111953)
Approved on 19
th
April 2023 by the Union Cabinet, the mission is set to span
from 2023–24 to 2030–31, with a budget allocation of `6,003.65 crore. Through
targeted investments in research infrastructure, talent development programs,
and public-private partnerships, the mission aims to position the nation as a
global leader in quantum science and technology. As part of this mission, four
Thematic Hubs (T-Hubs) have been set up, bringing together 14 Technical
Groups across 17 states and 2 Union Territories. Pathways To Progress:
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Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 29
These hubs focus on technology innovation, skill development, entrepreneurship,
industry partnerships, and global collaborations, ensuring a truly national
impact. The four T-Hubs selected under NQM collectively involve 152 researchers
from 43 institutions nationwide, fostering a collaborative ecosystem to drive
research and innovation in quantum technologies.
The National Quantum Mission (NQM) is more than just a technological
initiative—it is a strategic step towards securing India’s future in the quantum
era. With significant investments, world-class research collaborations, and
dedicated innovation hubs, the mission is set to propel India to the forefront of
the global quantum revolution. This initiative underscores India’s commitment
to scientific excellence, economic resilience, and national security in a world
where quantum technologies are poised to reshape industries and societies.
(g) IndiaAI mission
The IndiaAI mission was launched in 2024 with a proposed budget of `10,372
crore and a five-year span. The aim is to build a comprehensive ecosystem that
fosters AI innovation. To achieve this, the mission envisages equitable access to
the computation resources, enhancing data quality, developing indigenous AI
capabilities, attracting top AI talent, enabling industry collaboration, providing
startup risk capital, ensuring socially impactful AI projects, and promoting
ethical AI through its seven pillar programmes (https://indiaai.gov.in/). The
mission is implemented by an independent business division under the Ministry
of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). As part of this effort, 367
datasets have already been uploaded to AI Kosh, India’s AI-specific open data
repository.
The IndiaAI Foundation Model pillar, which focuses on building large-scale
AI models trained on India-specific data, received over 500 proposals since
the call was launched. On April 26, Sarvam AI was selected to build India’s
sovereign LLM ecosystem, including a 120-billion parameter open-source model
for public service use cases like Citizen Connect 2047 and AI4Pragati. Now,
three more firms have been roped in to work in different areas of AI. One of the
firms, Soket AI, has proposed to build an open-source model with 120-billion
parameters, optimized for India’s linguistic diversity, targeting applications in
defence, education, and healthcare. The second firm, Gnani AI has proposed
to develop a 14-billion parameter multilingual Voice AI foundation model for
real-time speech processing and reasoning. The third firm is Gan AI, which will
focus on building a 70-billion parameter multilingual model aimed at achieving
superhuman text-to-speech (TTS) capabilities.
The mission aims to foster AI innovation and build domestic capacities in
artificial intelligence. It consists of seven key pillars namely, India AI Compute,
Innovation Centre, Dataset platforms, Application development initiatives,
Future Skills, Startup Financing, and Safe & Trusted AI. Pathways To Progress:
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Box 3.1 Missions related to Building Capacity for Clean Energy Production
DST Clean Energy Research Initiative: CERI is a multifaceted program aimed at
driving down the cost of clean energy technologies and promoting sustainable
development in India. The key objectives and focus areas of the Initiative are
a) intensification of research in high-priority areas (like solar energy, building
energy efficiency, clean coal, clean energy materials, smart grids, methanol
economy, clean fuels, hydrogen, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage),
b) funding research and development (R&D) by academic institutions, national
laboratories, and industries, c) supporting the development of national research
competence and fostering innovation in clean energy technologies, and d)
providing opportunities for human and institutional capacity development
through fellowships, training, centers of excellence, thematic hubs, and technology
platforms. Along with this, several other initiatives focused on promoting clean
energy are there in order to contribute to developing a basket of technically
feasible, socially acceptable, environmentally sound, and economically viable
innovative solutions for a cleaner and more sustainable energy future.
National Green Hydrogen Mission: The Mission will have wide ranging benefits-
creation of export opportunities for Green Hydrogen and its derivatives;
Decarbonisation of industrial, mobility and energy sectors; reduction in dependence
on imported fossil fuels and feedstock; development of indigenous manufacturing
capabilities; creation of employment opportunities; and development of cutting-
edge technologies. It has an initial total outlay of INR19,744 crore, for promoting
strategic interventions for transition towards Green Hydrogen production and
sale. The mission is leading to the development of an extensive production,
distribution, use and export ecosystem for green hydrogen and its derivatives
such as ammonia. As an important milestone, the globally lowest prices for the
production of green hydrogen and ammonia have been quoted by the producers
at the tender auctions in August 2025.
16
Breakup into:
INR 17,490 crore Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition
(SIGHT) programme
INR 1,466 crore Pilot projects
INR 400 crore For R&D activities
INR 388 crore Towards other Mission components (Miscellaneous)
16 https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2153006#:~:text=In%20a%20landmark%20develop -
ment%20under,discovery%20of%20%E2%82%B955.75%2Fkg Pathways To Progress:
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National Small Grid Mission: The National Smart Grid Mission (NSGM) is an
initiative of the Indian government, established in 2015 (and became operational
in January 2016), to accelerate the deployment of smart grids and manage related
policies and programs. It is housed within the Ministry of Power and aims to
improve grid efficiency, reduce losses, and integrate renewable energy sources.
It involves various stakeholders including DISCOMs, regulators, manufacturers,
and the Central Electricity Authority.
3.1.2 Important Initiatives by Central government ministries and departments focused
at promoting innovation activities
(i) Department of Science and Technology (DST)
DST plays a pivotal role in promoting innovation, research, and entrepreneurship across
India. It coordinates and runs several programmes ranging from research grants, and
educational events to international collaborations and infrastructure development to
promote scientific temper, support startups, and encourage grassroots innovations.
Some of the notable programs of DST include, National Initiative for Developing and
Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI), Strengthening, Upscaling & Nurturing Innovations
for Livelihood (SUNIL) Programme, INSPIRE etc. The department also supports
international collaboration between researchers and firms.
• National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI): A
flagship program of DST focusing on leveraging the Indian knowledge
economy and providing opportunities for wealth creation. It is built around
the vision of nurturing a robust innovation-driven ecosystem by supporting
problem-solvers, innovators, and technology-based startups through a
structured and stage-wise approach. It encompasses a suite of targeted
programs that address different stages of the innovation and startup lifecycle.
These include NIDHI-PRAYAS (young entrepreneurs: ideas into prototypes);
NIDHI-EIR, Entrepreneur-In-Residence (risk-mitigation support to early-stage
entrepreneurs); and NIDHI-TBI (converting innovations into startups) through
Technology Business Incubators.
Figure 3.9: DST NIDHI TBI Services Pathways To Progress:
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Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 32
A newer model, NIDHI-iTBI, was launched in 2022–23 to promote inclusive
innovation through tailored incubation support. Additional components like
NIDHI-Accelerator centres provide structured scaling-up support, NIDHI-SSS
(Seed Support System) offers early-stage investment, and NIDHI-CoE (Centres
of Excellence) facilitate the global competitiveness of startups through access
to world-class infrastructure and mentoring. Its key beneficiaries include S&T-
based entrepreneurs, startup incubators, academic and R&D institutions, mentors,
financial institutions, angel investors, venture capitalists, and relevant government
and industry bodies.
Figure 3.10: A representation of the various initiatives under the NIDHI program
(Source: https://nidhi.dst.gov.in/about-department/about-nidhi/)
Collectively, the NIDHI ecosystem plays a critical role in fostering entrepreneurial
culture and building a self-reliant, innovation-driven economy.
• Strengthening, Upscaling & Nurturing Innovations for Livelihood (SUNIL)
Programme:
The SUNIL programme is designed to support grassroots innovations by
transforming local ideas into viable livelihood opportunities for the rural and
unemployed population, particularly the economically weaker sections (EWS). The
programme’s objectives include developing a technology delivery and enterprise Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 33
creation model to enhance the efficiency of livelihood systems, implementing
Technology Interventions for Addressing Societal Needs (TIASN), and fostering the
capacity building of Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), NGOs, Knowledge
Institutions (KIs), and social startups.
The thematic focus centers on livelihood development, where
technology is applied to address socio-economic challenges through local
engagement and enterprise creation. Activities involve mapping community
needs, developing and demonstrating suitable technologies, strengthening
institutional networks, and enabling social entrepreneurship. Funded by the Central
Government, support is extended in the form of general and capital grants to
participating NGOs and KIs for human resources, R&D, infrastructure creation (like
community centres, water structures, labs), training, and dissemination activities.
The programme is governed through Group Monitoring Workshops (GMWs) and
Expert Committee (EC) reviews, with financial audits conducted by the Comptroller
and Auditor General (C&AG) and the Ministry’s internal audit systems, ensuring
transparency and accountability in implementation.
• DST-GDC I-NCUBATE Program: Program aims to catalyse STEM research
and technologies from universities, research labs, and incubators across India
by transforming innovations into deep-tech startups that create socio-economic
impact at scale. Designed as a cohort-based Customer Discovery Program for
Deep-tech Researchers and aims to catalyse STEM research and technologies
from universities, research labs, and incubators across India by transforming
innovations into deep-tech startups that create socio-economic impact at scale
(https://gdciitm.org/dst/#about). There will be 10 bootcamp style Cohorts under
the First Phase of the Program.
Figure 3.11: Lifecycle model of DST-GDC I-NCUBATE
(Source: https://nidhi.dst.gov.in/dst-gdc-incubate-program/) Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 34
(ii) Ministry of Education
• Innovation Cell under Ministry of Education
The Ministry of Education (MoE), Govt. of India has established an ‘Innovation
cell’ with the purpose of systematically fostering the culture of Innovation in all
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the country in 2018. MIC has brought
the Tectonic shift in Innovation & entrepreneurship ecosystem of our Higher
Educational Institutions and School Education through outcome and output-
oriented policy and program efforts. The Innovation Cell works on its four pillars
of excellence i.e., Policy Intervention; Handholding of HEIs and schools, Faculty &
Students; Impact Assessment; and Facilitating National & International platforms
for Indian and global students.
The program implements several key activities including the National Innovation
and Startup Policy 2019, Smart India Hackathon (SIH) for practical problem-
solving, Kalam Program for IP Literacy and Awareness (KAPILA) supporting
patent filing, Innovation Ambassador Training Program for faculty mentors, and
Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship Bootcamps. Institutional support comes
through established Institution’s Innovation Councils (IICs) that nurture ideas
into prototypes, while infrastructural support includes Design Innovation Centers
and innovation laboratories.
The initiative leverages public-private partnerships to bridge academia-industry
gaps and provides funding through institutional budgets, collaborations with
government agencies, and initiatives like the MoE-AICTE Investor Network that
connects startups with angel investors and venture capitalists. Figure 3.12 shows
the number of IICs established across the country and the impact of these to the
common public.
Figure 3.12: Distribution of Innovation Cells across the different states in India
(Source: https://birac.nic.in/webcontent/BIRAC_Annual_Report_2020_21_English.pdf) Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 35
• Centres of Excellence In Frontier Areas in Science and Technology - Establishing
Infrastructure for Cutting Edge Research
The Centres of Excellence (CoEs) under the Ministry of Education have made great
progress in promoting cutting-edge research and innovation in key sectors. Some
major accomplishments include AI-based agriculture projects at IIT Indore and IIT
Ropar, where they have created precision farming technologies and data-driven
solutions, leading to a significant increase in research funding and publications.
The Manekshaw Centres at IIT Guwahati, which focus on defence, are encouraging
partnerships between universities and security organizations. Additionally, the
Union Budget 2025 has set aside `500 crore for a CoE in Education and has
introduced new CoEs in Agriculture, Healthcare, and Sustainable Cities. Together,
these efforts are boosting India’s research and development infrastructure,
speeding up the application of technology, and improving innovation capabilities
in various sectors.
• Kalam Programme for Intellectual Property Literacy and Awareness - Financial
assistance for Improving IPR awareness and registration
KAPILA programme was launched on 15
th
October 2020 with the aim of creating
appropriate awareness among researchers and innovators regarding the need of IP
filing, mechanism, and methodology involved in filing IP in India as well as globally.
The scheme is targeted especially on students and faculty of higher education
institutions. Under the KAPILA programme, financial assistance is provided to
the institutions that are part of the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) for filing
patents.
Under the programme Institutes interested in organizing the IPR awareness
program in Online or Offline modes can register with the ministry. Subsequently,
experts from the Patent Office are assigned to address the participants of the
institutions about IPR. Besides this an IP lecture series is available for all students
and faculty members from KAPILA registered Institutions. The objective of the
IP series is to sensitize and strengthen the IP ecosystem in educational institutes
thus creating a culture of systematically protecting new ideas, research, and
innovation. The program also leverages the existing IP experts in India through
the KAPILA Patent Facilitator Network. This network connects IP professionals
with educational institutions across India to provide support for patent search,
drafting, filing and intellectual property matters. The registered patent facilitators
are a part of a nationwide network of IP professionals and get opportunities to
work with educational institutions, support students and faculty in protecting
their innovations and conduct awareness sessions for KAPILA-NIPAM (national IP
awareness mission) initiatives (https://kapila.mic.gov.in/). Pathways To Progress:
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Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 36
Figure 3.13: The various components of KAPILA initiatives
(Source: https://kapila.mic.gov.in/)
(iii) Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under the
Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, has launched several
initiatives to foster innovation and strengthen India’s startup ecosystem. In addition
to the flagship Startup India Scheme, described above, DPIIT has collaborated
with industry leaders like Paytm to assist fintech hardware manufacturers through
funding and guidance. It has partnered with global entities such as the Startup
Policy Forum (SPF) to position India as a global innovation hub, enhancing its role
in entrepreneurship and technology-driven development.
DPIIT also plays a crucial role in regulatory and strategic support for startups,
making intellectual property rights (IPR) services more accessible and offering
financial assistance for patent filing and innovation protection. Various workshops
and awareness programs are conducted to educate startups about legal and
business frameworks. These initiatives collectively aim to create a conducive
environment for startups, driving economic growth, employment generation, and
technological advancements, ultimately positioning India as a leader in the global
innovation landscape.
Besides these, some other programs were created to promote Innovation activities,
primarily in promoting startup activity. A Compendium of these programs was
prepared by DPIIT and can be referred to for more information on these schemes.
16

A centralised portal - national single window system (https://www.nsws.gov.
in/) has been prepared and commissioned by the DPIIT to provide all services
under one umbrella. Under this portal all central and state government schemes
to promote innovation and business development are provided along with the
facility for startups and investors to get approvals, engage with investors and raise
funding.
(iv) Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
MeitY has several programmes focused on promoting the technology-based
startups through various mechanisms, including Incubation, entrepreneurship
support, and product development.
16 https://www.startupindia.gov.in/content/dam/invest-india/Templates/public/Draft of Compendium of Startup
Specific Initiatives (1).pdf Pathways To Progress:
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Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 37
• Entrepreneurship Support to Startups - TIDE
The Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE) 2.0
scheme is an initiative by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
(MeitY), Government of India, aimed at fostering a comprehensive ecosystem
to support technology startups and incubation centers across the country. The
primary objective of the scheme is to promote tech-based entrepreneurship
by facilitating the growth of startups working on emerging technologies such
as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain, Robotics, and
others, especially in pre-identified areas of societal relevance.
TIDE 2.0 provides holistic incubation support to startups, including access to co-
working spaces, mentorship, technical guidance, and networking opportunities.
It empowers incubators to deliver end-to-end support for early-stage ICT
startups, thus creating a strong foundation for innovation-driven enterprises. Each
designated TIDE center is eligible for a grant-in-aid of up to `155 lakhs, disbursed
in installments. This funding is allocated in two major components: up to `30 lakhs
for infrastructure development, and `125 lakhs for supporting up to five startups,
providing up to `25 lakhs per startup. Additionally, the scheme encourages
activities such as IPR filings, prototype development, and commercialization,
thereby aligning startup growth with national priorities in innovation and digital
transformation.
TIDE Centers are categorized into three groups:
Type Function and Activities of the TIDE Centre
G1C
To offer deep support to startups including mentoring, capacity
building, industry linkages for further investment avenues. Must also
nurture and handhold G3 centres.
G2C
To facilitate aspiring entrepreneurs and students to build high quality
startups. Must also nurture and handhold G3 Centres.
G3C
To initiate and evangelize innovation and entrepreneurship
ecosystems in unexplored regions. Collaborate with G1/G2 centres
for effective handholding and nurturing of startups.
• Startup Accelerator of MeitY for Product Innovation, Development, and Growth
(SAMRIDH) and Meity Startup Hub (MSH)
The Startup Accelerator of MeitY for Product Innovation, Development, and
Growth (SAMRIDH) scheme aims to support existing and upcoming Accelerators
to select and accelerate potential IT-based startups to scale. Among others, the
program focuses on accelerating the startups by providing customer connect,
investors connect and connect to international markets. This scheme provides
start-ups with a platform to enhance their products and secure investments for
scaling their business.
To facilitate MeitY’s vision of promoting technology innovation, start-ups, and the
creation of Intellectual Properties, a nodal entity called ‘MeitY Start-up Hub’ (MSH) Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 38
has been set up under its aegis. MSH acts as a national coordination, facilitation,
and monitoring center to integrate all the incubation centers, start-ups, and
innovation-related activities of MeitY. MSH has a mission to build a conducive
innovation and start-up ecosystem by bringing together various technology
innovation stakeholders and paving the way toward a strong economy built on the
twin engines of innovation and technological advancement. It also acts as a hub
and ensures synergies among all the incubation centers, Centres of Excellence on
Emerging Technologies, and other existing platforms, supported by the Ministry of
Electronics and Information Technology for facilitating crisscrossing of technology
resources, sharing best practices and ideas across the entire innovation and start-
up ecosystem.
Figure 3.14: Focus areas for activities of the MSH and the services provided by the Hub.
(Source: https://msh.meity.gov.in/meityabout)
• Institutional Support to Startups - GENESIS
The Gen-Next Support for Innovative Startups (GENESIS), was introduced by
the Government of India as a strategic initiative aimed at identifying, supporting,
nurturing, and accelerating startups, especially in Tier-II and Tier-III cities. This
initiative promotes collaborative engagement among startups, government
entities, and corporate partners. By emphasizing digitization based on the
principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and affordability, GENESIS seeks to enhance
regional innovation ecosystems, create job opportunities, and increase economic
productivity. The program is structured to scale and sustain the technology
startup ecosystem by tapping into the entrepreneurial potential that exists beyond
metropolitan areas. Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 39
The initiative encompasses a wide array of beneficiaries, including students,
educators, aspiring entrepreneurs, startup firms and their employees, academic
institutions, incubators, Centers of Excellence (CoEs), accelerators, mentors,
investors, and innovation-oriented corporations.
GENESIS facilitates a systematic approach to innovation development through
several key interventions:
»Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EiR) Support to assist in validating early-stage
startup concepts in smaller cities;
»Pilot Funding Support for startups prepared to test their products after
validation;
»Investment Support for startups in need of market capital, aimed at attracting
domestic rupee investments into regional ecosystems; and
»Deep-Tech Funding Support for startups focused on creating high-impact,
technology-driven solutions.
Overall, GENESIS embodies a comprehensive and inclusive innovation policy
framework, empowering Tier-II and Tier-III cities to develop into dynamic centers
of entrepreneurship.
(v) Department of Biotechnology
The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) in India actively promotes innovation and
entrepreneurship within the biotechnology sector through a range of dedicated
programs and initiatives. DBT has been at the forefront of driving policy reforms
and research initiatives aimed at fostering a bio-based economy that aligns with
the nation’s environmental and economic goals.
Biotechnology Research Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development (Bio-
RIDE): This scheme was approved in the year 2024 and it consolidates previous DBT
initiatives into a single framework. The scheme has three broad components: (a)
Biotechnology Research and Development (R&D); (b) Industrial & Entrepreneurship
Development (I&ED), and (c) Biomanufacturing and Biofoundry. The proposed
outlay for the implementation of the unified scheme ‘Bio-RIDE’ is Rs.9197 crore
during the 15 finance Commission period from 2021-22 to 2025-26. Bio-RIDE scheme
is designed to foster innovation, promote bio-entrepreneurship, and strengthen
India’s position as a global leader in biomanufacturing and biotechnology. Bio-
RIDE aims to accelerate research, enhance product development, and bridge the
gap between academic research and industrial applications. The scheme is part
of the Government of India’s mission to harness the potential of bio-innovation to
tackle national and global challenges such as healthcare, agriculture, environmental
sustainability, and clean energy.
BioE3 (Biotechnology for Economy, Environment, and Employment) Policy:
The Government of India has introduced several landmark policy reforms in
the sector, including approval of the BioE3 Policy in 2025. This policy aims to
accelerate innovation-driven research and entrepreneurship in high-performance
biomanufacturing. Pathways To Progress:
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Pathways To Progress:
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Figure 3.15: BIOE3 Salient Features
(Source: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2105774) Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 41
DBT has several other programs aimed to promote innovation. Among others,
these include Emerging Frontiers in Biotechnology (EFB) Program, and i3c BRIC
RCB PhD Program.
The Emerging Frontiers in Biotechnology (EFB) program is designed to promote
innovative and high-risk research in emerging areas of biotechnology. It aims
to address cutting-edge scientific challenges and create new knowledge and
technologies that could have significant societal and economic impacts.
Launched in 2024, i3c BRIC RCB PhD Program aims to build a highly skilled
workforce with a problem-solving approach to address societal needs. The
programme will foster greater academic and research interaction among the
institutions of the DBT BRIC (iBRICs), RCB and ICGEB, and will increase the
professional networking opportunities for the Ph.D. scholars.
In addition to the programs as above, DBT also runs a not-for-profit Section 8,
Schedule B, Public Sector Enterprise, named Biotechnology Industry Research
Assistance Council (BIRAC), which recognizes and invests in innovative ideas in
the biotech sector. More details about it are presented later in this chapter.
Box 3.2
DBT - ICMR & Covid 19: The DBT’s pivotal role in developing and deploying COVID-19
vaccines stands as a symbol of India’s innovation excellence, driven by scientific
rigor, strategic funding, and robust partnerships. India became one of the largest
global producers and suppliers of COVID-19 vaccines- Covaxin. Covaxin, India’s first
indigenous COVID-19 vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with
ICMR and NIV Pune, is a landmark in public health innovation enabled by a robust
multi-institutional network. Its development involved over 22 hospitals and medical
institutions nationwide, including AIIMS Delhi and Patna, PGI Rohtak, SRM Hospital
Chennai, and Sola Civil Hospital Ahmedabad, which conducted phased clinical trials
on more than 25,000 participants. Central laboratories such as Dr. Dang’s Lab and
NIV ensured safety and efficacy testing, while ICMR provided significant funding
and trial coordination support. This collaborative ecosystem—spanning research
institutions, hospitals, regulatory bodies, and laboratories—demonstrated India’s
ability to rapidly translate scientific research into large-scale, life-saving solutions
during a global health crisis. It not only reinforced the country’s ability to respond to
health crises but also laid the foundation for a more resilient, agile, and innovation-
driven biotechnology ecosystem in the future.
(vi) Department of Scientific and Industrial Research
The Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) had launched the PRISM
(Promoting Innovations in Individuals, Start-ups and MSMEs) scheme for execution
during the 2012-2017 period. It aims to support individual innovators, institutions
or organizations set up as Autonomous Organization under a specific statute or as a
society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 or Indian Trusts Act, 1882. Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 42
This scheme is believed to be a successor of the Technopreneur Promotion Programme
(TePP).
PRISM is a Unique and valuable scheme which has strived to democratize innovation as a
process by extending support to individuals regardless of formal educational qualifications
and credentials as well as Start-ups in the early stages of their development process which
could promote the innovation supply chain for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. The
principle of democratization as an objective is laudable and merits special mention.
The CSIR-New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI)
is designed to drive innovation-led scientific and technological advancements,
enabling Indian industry to achieve global leadership in select niche areas. Unlike
conventional industry–institute partnerships, NMITLI emphasizes developing
globally competitive technologies in emerging and less-explored markets through
innovative funding mechanisms, including an inverse risk-investment strategy
(low investment–high risk with high leadership potential). Notable outcomes
include cost-effective dental implants with hydroxyapatite and bioglass coatings
developed by IIT-Delhi and commercialized widely, the novel TB molecule
SUDOTERB that may reduce treatment duration from 6–8 months to 2–3 months,
and Bio-Suite, a portable bioanalysis software developed through a consortium of
leading research institutions, academia, and industry.
Figure 3.16: Technology and Market Positioning of NMITLI sponsored Projects
(Source: https://www.csir.res.in/en/about-nmitli/positioning-nmitli)
National Research Development Council (NRDC) acts as a “one-stop shop” for
innovative technologies across various sectors, fostering entrepreneurship and
implementing programs for inventors and commercialization. It promotes and
commercializes technologies developed in Indian R&D institutions, universities, and
industry to transform them into marketable industrial products. Its objective is to
bridge the gap between laboratory innovations and industrial application, helping to
create marketable products and promote industrial growth in India. Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
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In the fulfilment of its objectives NRDC provides comprehensive technology
transfer services, helps commercialize technologies, patents, and supports
the startup ecosystem by nurturing, mentoring, and providing handholding to
entrepreneurs. To date, as per its website, NRDC has facilitated 5100 technology
transfer agreements and has a vast repository of technologies, covering diverse
fields. Further, it has also exported technologies and technical services to both
developed as well as the developing countries.
(vii) Ministry of Agriculture
Agriculture is an indispensable sector which is crucial for the long-term sustainability
of any economy. India has a rich tradition of agricultural innovations contributing
to economic growth. The Green Revolution introduced crop varieties which
ensured food security. Today, climate change and rising population present a
different challenge which requires innovative solutions to agriculture and forestry.
The Ministry of Agriculture has taken a number of steps to promote and support
innovative practices and products in the agriculture domain. One of the most
notable mentions here is Agrinnovate.
Agrinnovate India Limited (AgIn): The Department of Agriculture
Research & Education (DARE) operates a for profit organisation, Agrinnovate
India Limited, which acts as an interface between stakeholders in the agriculture
sector (farmers, firms, R&D organisations, Educational institutions etc.) and the
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Its purpose is to secure, sustain
and promote global agricultural development.
Box 3.3: Overview of Some Agricultural Missions
A broad spectrum of enabling policies and schemes are driving agri-startup
innovation across India include Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Agricultural
Marketing Infrastructure (AMI), e-NAM (National Agriculture Market), PMFME (One
District One Product), PMEGP, SFURTI – Cluster-Based Support, Stand Up India
Scheme, Credit Guarantee (CGTMSE), Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS),
Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM) – AI, IoT, Blockchain & AgriStack for more
innovative rural ecosystems. Several aspects of startup documentation, farmer-
centric digital identity, and how entrepreneurs can align with these mission-mode
programs to build scalable, inclusive, and sustainable ventures. Besides these
financial support is also extended for capacity building through NABARD for rural
development, agricultural advancement, infrastructure development, digital and
financial literacy etc.
(viii) Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER)
MDoNER has implemented several schemes to foster innovation and development
in Northeast India. The North East Science & Technology (NEST) Cluster was
launched with the objective of identifying and addressing the specific challenges
of the North Eastern Region (NER) of India through targeted technological
interventions, aiming at the region’s holistic development. The NEST Cluster is Pathways To Progress:
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modelled after the Science and Technology Clusters established under the Office
of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India.
The initiative focuses on four key verticals:
• an Innovation Hub for Grassroots Technologies,
• a Technology Hub dedicated to Artificial Intelligence and Semiconductor
development,
• a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Innovation in Bamboo-based Technologies,
entrepreneurial.
• The Science & Technological Intervention for North East India (STINER) is an
ambitious initiative designed by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern
Region. (MDoNER), Government of India, to enhance the livelihoods of farmers
and artisans in the North Eastern Region (NER) through the application of
proven scientific and technological solutions.
(ix) Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA)
Various initiatives have been taken by the MCA for facilitating compliance and easier
operations. Among them is the Self-certification which allows a DPIIT-recognized
startup to self-certify compliance with six labour laws and three environmental
laws—without inspections for 5 years unless a credible complaint is filed. It has
aligned the definition of “startup” in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016.
This grants startups more clarity and easing insolvency proceedings. by providing
a quicker, less expensive, and more efficient way to close or restructure a business
when it can no longer meet its debt obligations. Fast-track exit (FTE) provisions
are available for DPIIT-recognized startups, allowing them to wind up operations
within 90 days, compared to the standard 180-day process applicable to other
companies.
(x) Ministry of Defence
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has significantly
strengthened India’s defence innovation landscape by advancing indigenous
research, fostering strategic partnerships, and accelerating technology
development under the Ministry of Defence. Through initiatives such as the
Technology Development Fund (TDF) and Innovations for Defence Excellence
(iDEX), DRDO has enhanced collaboration with startups, MSMEs, and academia,
promoting rapid prototyping and dual-use technologies. Its contributions in areas
like advanced missile systems, electronic warfare, and unmanned platforms have
not only reduced import dependency but also stimulated a domestic innovation
ecosystem aligned with the Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat missions, driving
self-reliance and competitiveness in critical defence technologies.
iDEX (Innovation for Defence Excellence) is a key initiative launched by the Ministry
of Defence and implemented through the Defence Innovation Organisation
(DIO). It is a Section 8 company jointly established by the Defence Public Sector Pathways To Progress:
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Undertakings Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Bharat Electronics Limited
(BEL). The primary objective of iDEX is to promote indigenous innovation in
defence and aerospace, support and incubate startups and MSMEs with the aim to
enhance self-reliance in these areas, develop defence grade technologies and dual
use products. It reaches out to academia, industry, and innovators by organising
the Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) a periodic open competition to
solve specific challenges and explore new opportunities for strengthening Indian
Defence. These challenges cover a wide range of domains such as night vision
systems, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Jamming devices, etc. The iDEX DISC
programme has built a strong support system for handholding the winners of
DISC competition through iDEX “SPARK” (Support for Prototype and Research
Kickstart) grants. Winners are eligible for support of up to `1.5 crore per project as
milestone-based grants for prototype development of solutions proposed through
DISC.
(xi) Department of Space (DoS)
DOS is responsible for the implementation of the Indian space programme
through its primary agency, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). DoS
also governs and coordinates institutions like IN-SPACE, Antrix Corporation, and
New Space India Ltd. (NSIL) for commercialization and private sector integration.
ISRO has created an institutional mechanism through its Capacity Building and
Public Outreach (CBPO) centre to promote joint collaborative research and create
entrepreneurial capacity in space research and innovation across the country.
These engagements are facilitated through the following programmes: R&D
Projects (RESPOND Basket); Space Technology Cells (STCs); Regional Academic
Centres for Space (RAC-S); and Space Technology Incubation Centres (S-TICs).
For submitting proposals under these programmes, CBPO has established an
online portal I-GRASP (ISRO Grant in Aid for Space Research Programmes).
STCs are research hubs established at premier academic institutes—including
IITs (Bombay, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, Roorkee, Delhi, Guwahati) and IISc
Bangalore—to foster collaborative R&D in space science, technology, and
applications. S-TICs are regionally distributed incubators; aims to incubate startups
by turning academic ideas into space-grade prototypes for future missions. S‑TICs
support students (final-year, postgrad, and research scholars) in developing
proof‑of‑concepts and prototypes linked to real ISRO missions, in partnership with
local industry. S-TICs have designated lead institutions across different regions of
India: NIT Agartala for the East, NIT Jalandhar for the North, NIT Tiruchirappalli for
the South, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT), Bhopal for the
Central region, and Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT), Nagpur
for the West. Additionally, NIT Rourkela serves as an additional lead institution for
the Eastern region. Through these partnerships, ISRO is strengthening its capability
and also developing the space research and entrepreneurship ecosystem in the
country. Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
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Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 46
(xii) Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Scale Enterprises
To foster technological advancement, entrepreneurship, and competitiveness
among MSMEs and to support startups, promote R&D, and enhance industry-
academia collaboration in small-scale industries, the Ministry of Micro, Small &
Medium Enterprises (MSME), Government of India, has launched several innovation
initiatives.
One of the key programs is the MSME Innovative Scheme, which integrates
incubation, design, and intellectual property rights (IPR) support. Under this
scheme, startups and MSMEs receive financial assistance, mentorship, and
infrastructure support to develop innovative products and solutions. The Incubation
component provides funding to commercialize new ideas and prototypes, while
the Design scheme helps MSMEs improve their product design and market appeal.
Additionally, the IPR scheme assists MSMEs in patent filing and protecting their
innovations.
The government has also established Technology Centres and Business Incubators
to provide technical expertise, training, and R&D facilities to MSMEs. Programs like
Cluster Development Scheme and Zero Defect Zero Effect (ZED) Certification further
promote innovation by encouraging sustainable and quality-driven production.
By supporting cutting-edge technology adoption, skill development, and market-
driven innovations, MSME innovation initiatives play a crucial role in strengthening
India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and boosting global competitiveness.
(xiii) Ministry of Culture
The National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), an autonomous body under the
Ministry of Culture, Government of India, has developed Innovation Hubs across
the country to foster scientific creativity, problem-solving skills, and hands-on
learning among students, young innovators, and researchers. These hubs serve as
dynamic platforms for experimentation, tinkering, and idea incubation, encouraging
innovation in science and technology. Each Innovation Hub is equipped with state-
of-the-art laboratories, DIY kits, advanced tools, and interactive exhibits to provide
a collaborative environment for budding innovators. These centres focus on
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education, enabling
participants to work on real-world challenges and develop practical solutions.
The hubs also promote industry-academia linkages, mentorship programs, and
entrepreneurship development. These hubs are strategically located in science
centers and museums across India, ensuring widespread accessibility. Some key
activities conducted at these hubs include innovation challenges, workshops,
competitions, hackathons, and hands-on training programs. By nurturing a
culture of curiosity and scientific exploration, the NCSM’s Innovation Hubs play a
crucial role in building India’s future innovators and fostering a knowledge-driven
economy. Pathways To Progress:
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Pathways To Progress:
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Image 3.2: Hon’ble President of India, Ms. D. Murmu interacting with an artisan at an expo
(Source: https://www.mid-day.com/news/india-news/photo/in-photos-president-droupadi-
murmu-interacts-with-local-artisans-in-indore-102247/3)
The National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), also operates a network of
science museums and science cities across India. In fact, NCSM is the largest network
of science centers and museums in the world under a single administrative umbrella.
NCSM has developed its own nationwide network of 26 science museums and
centres. Among 26 centres, divided into North, South, East, North East and West
Zones, there are 7 National Level Centres namely Science City, Kolkata, Birla Industrial
and Technological Museum (BITM), Kolkata, Nehru Science Centre (NSC), Mumbai,
Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum (VITM), Bengaluru, National
Science Centre (NSC), Delhi, National Science Centre, Guwahati, and Central Research
and Training Laboratory, Kolkata. Except for Science City, Kolkata, other national-
level centres have regional and sub-regional/district-level science centres under their
control and are called Satellite Units (SUs). NCSM has also established centers in
collaboration with state governments and union territories.
Image 3.3: Display at the National Science Centre, Delhi Pathways To Progress:
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Image 3.4: View of the Science City, Kolkata
(xiv) Initiatives of Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser
National Mission for Accelerating Growth of New India’s Innovations (AGNII)
has been launched by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA), to
support the national efforts to boost the innovation ecosystem in the country
by connecting innovators across industry, individuals and the grassroots to the
market and help commercialize innovative solutions. AGNII will provide a platform
for innovators to bring their technology ready products and solutions to industry
and the market, thereby helping propel techno-entrepreneurship which can usher
a new era of inclusive socio-economic growth. The mission includes services across
the techno-commercialisation chain required to support and upscale market-ready
indigenous innovations. The initiative includes working with government R&D
laboratories and academia to help commercialize their innovations; collaborate
and value add to existing innovation programs; training and capacity building of
scientists, innovators, technology transfer offices and technology license offices.
Linking specific needs of industry to research laboratories to enable development
of cost-effective marketable solutions is another focus of the AGNII program.
Complementing these are the PSA’s Science & Technology (S&T) Clusters—eight
operational clusters in cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune that bring
together over 150 partners from industry, academia, and government, and have
facilitated the commercialization of more than 250 technologies. Together, these Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
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Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 49
intermediary bodies provide the infrastructure, mentorship, and market linkages
essential for translating research into scalable innovations, strengthening India’s
position in the global innovation landscape.
The Rural Technology Action Group (ruTAG), which is another project by the PSA
and operates in seven IITs—Madras, Guwahati, Kharagpur, Roorkee, Delhi, Mumbai,
and Kanpur has become a key way to turn scientific research into solutions for
rural areas. Since it started in 2004, ruTAG has created over 50 technologies
based on what people need, tackling various rural issues, from farming and water
management to handicrafts and health. Some of the innovations include vending
carts, mango decorticators, motorized looms, and portable cow lifts. In its first
phase, 34 technologies were chosen for a nationwide rollout after a thorough
review led by the PSA. In 2025, the introduction of the RuTAGe Smart Village
Centers (RSVCs) represented the next step forward, with the first RSVC opened
in Mandaura village, Sonipat. These centers provide specific technologies like
IoT-based fertigation systems, solar solutions, assistive tools, and market-access
platforms to groups of 15–20 villages, with the goal of turning them into innovation-
driven economic centers. Through this diverse strategy, ruTAG plays an active role
in India’s innovation ecosystem by speeding up grassroots innovation, facilitating
the transition from lab to field, and encouraging inclusive, sustainable growth in
rural communities.
The Manthan platform is a nationwide effort aimed at encouraging extensive
collaboration between the industry and the research community, ensuring that
innovation aligns with India’s national goals and the UN Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs). It acts as a lively interface where demand-side players like
industries, philanthropic groups, government departments, and foreign embassies
can share opportunities, challenges, and problem statements. Meanwhile, supply-
side participants such as academic and research institutions, startups, student
innovators, and grassroots entrepreneurs can offer their proposals and solutions.
Built on four main pillars—creating opportunities, submitting proposals, showcasing
innovations, and providing virtual collaboration tools, Manthan supports early-
stage innovation calls, market-ready projects, Centres of Excellence (CoEs),
fellowships, and engaging events like webinars and conferences. By offering a
structured approach to challenge-driven innovation, resource mobilization, and
stakeholder involvement, the platform enhances India’s innovation ecosystem,
encourages technology use in new sectors, and backs large-scale social impact
initiatives.
(xv) Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA)
The Smart City Mission was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban
Affairs (MoHUA) in 2015. It is embedding technology led innovation within urban
governance aimed at making cities more efficient, sustainable, and citizen-centric.
It is a demonstration of deployment of innovation, digital technologies, IoT, and
integrated systems to transform service delivery and citizen ease of living. Under
this mission the key action points are building an intelligent transport system, Pathways To Progress:
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ICT enabled infrastructure, smart grids, smart lighting and other new initiatives
for waste management, etc. The mission is creating an enabling governance
mechanism and partnerships leading to synergy across inter-ministerial, state, city
and urban bodies within that.
The mission has established a strong and novel institutional monitoring model.
Real-time digital monitoring dashboards, and independent evaluation mechanisms
have been established (https://smartcities.gov.in). A Special Purpose Vehicle
(SPVs) has been created for each Smart City which has a company structure with
CEO, nominees from state/ULB, and private sector participation). This body is
responsible for planning, appraising, approving, releasing funds, and monitoring
progress of projects. It has also created two outcome-based evaluation benchmarks
namely India Smart Cities Awards and Ease of Living Index.
3.1.3 Intermediary Bodies
In addition to direct support in form of various initiatives and programs, several
departments of Govt of India have also created different intermediary bodies
with focused mandates and roles. The support provided by some of the major
intermediary bodies is listed below.
(i) Technology Development Board
The Technology Development Board (TDB) is a statutory body constituted by
the Government of India under the Technology Development Board Act, 1995
to promote development and commercialization of indigenous technology and
adaptation of imported technology for wider application. The TDB is the first
organization of its kind within the government framework with the sole objective
of commercializing the fruit of indigenous research. The Board plays a pro-active
role by encouraging enterprises to take up technology-oriented products (https://
tdb.gov.in/).
Figure 3.17: Salient Features of TDB for supporting indigenous MSMEs (https://tdb.gov.in/)
The TDB provides financial assistance to Indian industrial concerns and other
agencies, attempting development and commercial application of indigenous Pathways To Progress:
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technology, or adapting imported technology to wider domestic applications. The
key objectives of TDB are: (a) promote new ideas from small enterprises even at
the risk of failures, (b) encourage production of competitive consumer products,
(c) motivate industries and R&D institutions for product innovation, (d) develop
socially relevant and profitable technologies, (e) identify and act in areas requiring
strategic interventions, and (f) Invest in core Technological Strengths to Enable
India Industry to Stand-up to the competitive pressure and become a global player.
In its quest to achieve these objectives, the board facilitates interaction between
industry, scientists, technocrats and specialists, creation of new generation of
entrepreneurs, and fostering partnerships with other, similar technology financing
bodies.
In its financial assistance in the form of Loan, Equity and Grants, the Board does
not levy any processing, administrative or commitment charges from the applicant.
The financial assistance to the industrial concerns is provided as a soft loan at
5% simple interest per annum. The loan amount is disbursed in tranches based
on pre decided technical and financial milestones. A one year moratorium is also
provided to the company on completion of the project. TDB may also contribute
by way of equity capital in an industrial concern on its commencement start-up
and/or growth stages. It is up to 25 % of the approved project cost, provided
such investment does not exceed the capital paid up by the promoters. TDB
also provides financial assistance by way of grants to industrial concerns and
R&D institutions engaged in developing indigenous technologies. The sanction
of grants is provided in exceptional cases having importance towards fulfilling
national interest.
Connecting academic research (universities, public labs) with industry needs,
enabling translation of scientific discoveries into market-ready innovation.
(ii) Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC)
BIRAC, a not-for-profit public sector enterprise set up by DBT, functions as an
intermediary organisation enabling the lab to market journeys especially in the
biotechnology sector. It promotes funding, incubation, regulatory facilitation,
support to startups and SMEs in biotech, creating linkages between academia,
industry and government, proof of concept and prototyping among others
resulting in the successful commercialization of homegrown vaccines, diagnostics,
therapeutics etc. Its primary objective is to strengthen and empower emerging
biotech enterprises, particularly startups and SMEs, to undertake strategic
research and innovation aimed at developing affordable products that address
critical national needs. Its thematic focus encompasses fostering innovation
and entrepreneurship, promoting affordable solutions in key social sectors,
empowering startups and SMEs, enhancing innovation capabilities, facilitating
the commercialization of discoveries, and ensuring the global competitiveness of
Indian biotech enterprises. Pathways To Progress:
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BIRAC offers multifaceted support, including institutional support through the
establishment of regional centers like BRIC, BREC, BRBC, and BRTC to provide
localized resources. It also provides infrastructure support by setting up incubation
centers, shared facilities, and research infrastructure to aid startups and researchers
in their innovation processes. BIRAC’s schemes and programs strategically target
different Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs). For instance, the Biotechnology
Ignition Grant (BIG) supports early-stage innovations, while the Small Business
Innovation Research Initiative (SBIRI) laid the foundation for public-private
collaboration in early-stage R&D by empowering SMEs to undertake high-risk
research and develop market-ready products in areas like healthcare, agriculture,
and environmental sustainability. The Biotechnology Industry Partnership
Programme (BIPP) focuses on more advanced stages of product development
and commercialization.
In 2017, the Bioincubators Nurturing Entrepreneurship for Scaling Technologies
(BioNEST) programme was established, to provide infrastructure, mentorship,
and incubation support to startups and entrepreneurs. It aims to promote
entrepreneurship by supporting the creation of bio-incubation centers across
academic and research institutions, enabling startups to translate scientific research
into scalable products. With over 95 bio-incubation centers across India, BioNEST
has facilitated more than 1,300 IP filings and enabled over 800 products to reach
the market. BioNEST provides critical infrastructure, mentorship, networking,
and access to funding and regulatory guidance for biotech startups. These
incubators focus on sectors like healthcare, agriculture, industrial biotechnology,
and environmental solutions. With over 75 BioNEST centers established across
India, the initiative plays a pivotal role in strengthening translational research,
supporting early-stage innovators, and driving bio-based economic development
in the country.
Figure 3.18: Core objectives and strategies of BIRAC’s BioNEST
(Source: https://birac.nic.in/webcontent/BIRAC_Annual_Report_2020_21_English.pdf) Pathways To Progress:
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Figure 3.19: Existing catalytic funding across innovation value chain
BIRAC collaborates with international organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, Wellcome Trust, and UK Trade & Investment. These partnerships
facilitate joint funding, knowledge exchange, and capacity-building initiative.
Various schemes and initiatives are showing a highly positive lab to market
translation in this sector. For example, the National Biopharma Mission has provided
a pathway for development of institutions that has helped to create a culture,
risk and enabling support at the various stages of the lab to market journeys of
startups. The emergence of over 3,000 biotech startups is a good example of this.
(iii) National Innovation Foundation (NIF): Supporting Grassroots and Societal
Innovations
It was founded in 2000 by the Department of Science and Technology, Govt.
of India to provide support for grassroots innovations developed by individuals
and local communities in any technological field. It specifically focuses on the
innovations which emerge without any support from the formal sector (https://
www.nif.org.in/). NIF helps grassroots innovators and outstanding traditional
knowledge holders get due recognition, respect and reward for their innovations.
It also tries to ensure that such innovations diffuse widely through commercial
and/or non-commercial channels, generating material or non-material incentives
for them and others involved in the value chain. Pathways To Progress:
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Figure 3.20: Major focus areas of NIF activities
(Source: NITI Workshop on Building Synergies in India Innovation Ecosystem, 2025,
Presentation by Director, NIF)
NIF has pooled a database of over 225,000 technological ideas, innovations and
traditional knowledge practices (not all unique, not all distinct) from over 585
districts of the country. NIF has till date recognised 816 grassroots innovators and
school students at the national level in its various National Biennial Grassroots
Innovation Award Functions and annual Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Ignite Children
Award functions. NIF has also set up an augmented Fabrication Laboratory (Fab
Lab) with the help of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston, for
product development and strengthening in-house research.
NIF is a good example of a Quadruple Helix - with participation of community
and formal institutions for promoting societal and grassroots innovation.
NIF is also working towards revamping The INSPIRE - MANAK (Million Minds
Augmenting National Aspiration and Knowledge) program in association with the
Department of Science & Technology to align it with the action plan for “Start-up
India” initiative launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India. Pathways To Progress:
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Figure 3.21: An indicative account of NIF activities and achievements
(Source: Compiled with information from the NIF Website)
3.1.4 Support for S&T Activities at Academic and Research Institutions
(i) Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) program: This
program was conceptualized in 2008 to communicate to the youth of the country
the excitements of creative pursuit of science, attract talent to the study of
science at an early age and thus build the required critical human resource pool for
strengthening and expanding the Science & Technology system and R & D base.
INSPIRE has three components along with INSPIRE-MANAK:
• Scheme for Early Attraction of Talent (SEATS) to attract talented youth to study
science by providing INSPIRE Award, and by arranging summer camps for
students on an annual basis through INSPIRE Internship.
• Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE) to enhance rates of attachment of
talented youth to undertake higher education in science intensive programmes,
by providing scholarships and mentorship.
• Assured Opportunity for Research Careers (AORC) to attract, attach, retain
and nourish talented young scientific Human Resource for strengthening the
R&D foundation and base. It has two sub-components, first component i.e.,
INSPIRE Fellowship (age group of 22-27 years), for carrying out doctoral
degree and the second component i.e., INSPIRE Faculty Scheme, for assured
opportunity for post- doctoral researchers in the age group of 27-32 years.
The INSPIRE - MANAK (Million Minds Augmenting National Aspirations and
Knowledge), is being executed by DST with National Innovation Foundation – India Pathways To Progress:
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(NIF), to motivate students in the age group of 10-15 years, studying in classes 6
to 10. To target one million original ideas/innovations rooted in science and societal
applications to foster a culture of creativity and innovative thinking among school
children. The considered top 60 ideas/innovations are supported by NIF for product/
process development and their linkage with other schemes of NIF/DST and their
display at the Annual Festival of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (FINE).
(ii) IMPacting Research INnovation and Technology (IMPRINT): Launched in November
2015, IMPRINT addresses engineering challenges across ten strategic domains
including healthcare, energy, and manufacturing. Coordinated initially by IISc and
16 IITs with support from 25 government ministries. IMPRINT served dual functions
namely, (a) developing engineering education policy and (b) creating roadmaps for
addressing critical challenges. Consequently, the revised IMPRINT-II has expanded
the program’s scope to include Centrally Funded Technical Institutions, merging
with the UAY scheme through a 50:50 funding model between the Ministry of
Education and Department of Science and Technology.
(iii) India Innovation Growth Programme (IIGP) 2.0: The India Innovation Growth
Programme (IIGP) 2.0, launched in 2018 by the Department of Science & Technology
(DST) in collaboration with Lockheed Martin and Tata Trusts, serves as a strategic
initiative to strengthen India’s innovation pipeline across the stages of ideation,
innovation, and acceleration. Building upon the foundation of the original IIGP
(initiated in 2007), the programme provides comprehensive support for science
and technology (S&T)-driven activities in academic and research institutions by
fostering the development of technology-based solutions for both societal and
industrial challenges. The initiative offers funding, mentorship, and incubation
support through key implementation partners such as, the Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Indo-US Science and Technology
Forum (IUSSTF), Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE)
at IIM Ahmedabad, IIT Bombay, and the Tata Center for Technology and Design
at MIT. By engaging innovators and entrepreneurs nationwide, IIGP 2.0 promotes
translational research and entrepreneurship in 13 focus areas under the University
Challenge and across 21 categories (11 industrial and 10 social) under the Open
Innovation Challenge, thereby reinforcing the innovation ecosystem within
academic and research domains.
17

(iv) Tech Parks, Incubators, Innovation Hubs/Clusters, CoEs
In addition to the support structures and dedicated programs described above, a
large number of institutional structures have been created during the last several
years. These include technology parks, incubation centres, S&T clusters, Centers
of Excellence etc.
The Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), under the Ministry of Electronics
& IT, has established 67 centres nationwide (59 in Tier-II and Tier-III cities),
providing infrastructure, export facilitation, and mentorship that have helped
launch thousands of tech startups and generated substantial IT/ITeS exports.
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https://hbtu.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/aboutIIGP.pdf Pathways To Progress:
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The Department of Science & Technology’s (DST) flagship incubation programmes
(including NIDHI-Technology Business Incubators (TBIs)), has contributed to the
development of a network of more than 284 incubators across the country as per
the last updated records of DST, among the DST-backed TBIs each unit typically
has the capacity to incubate at least 30 ventures at a time, collectively supporting
over 2,500 startups.
Leading academic institutions like IIT Madras, IIT Delhi (through FITT), IIT Bombay
(via SINE), and IIT Kanpur have set up dedicated Technology Incubation Centres
that, together, have nurtured more than 1,000 deep-tech startups and attracted
upwards of `2,000 crore in venture funding to date. These incubation centers
are involved in different stages of the translational journey of lab to market and
facilitating industry partnerships through enabling government support. The
incubation centre models are getting established across different universities
creating a new space for institutionalisation of university-industry linkages with
enabling government support and involvement. Thus, the transition towards
hybrid Triple Helix linkages are taking shape.
Box 3.4: Select Examples of Universities that were Early Movers in
Establishing Incubation centers/Cells
IIT Madras Incubation Cell (IITMIC) at IIT-Madras. Created India’s first university-
driven Research Park. Incubated startups in deep technologies as well as in rural
and social sectors. Incubated more than 200 startups, filed 1300 patents, has
created more than 70 R&D partnerships across 17 sectors
The Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE) at IIT Bombay. It has
incubated 32 companies so far. A novel feature is an entrepreneurship cell being
run by students.
Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT) at IIT Delhi.
Formulated 450 Development Projects, provided,1900 Industrial Consultancies,
Over 100 Technologies transferred to Industries, 100+ Start-ups Incubated.
Developed various programs for promoting entrepreneurship such as Faculty
Innovation and Research-driven Entrepreneurship (FIRE), Platform for Harnessing
Deep Technologies (PHD) Incubator.
Society for Innovation & Development (SID) at IISc. SID have undertaken R&D
projects with various big companies including Unilever, Pratt & Whitney, BHEL,
GAIL, Hindustan Petroleum, Infosys, Tata, FMC, Microsoft etc. SID has supported
about 200 companies & 550 projects till now and have 10 research centers. Pathways To Progress:
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Depiction of the geographical distribution of Hubs in the country.
Source: https://dst.gov.in/25-technology-innovation-hubs-across-country-through-nm-icps-are-boosting-
new-and-emerging
To foster a knowledge and Innovation Hub instituted by central ministries,
departments, or public-private partnerships aiming to serve as a specialized
institutional platform that fosters advanced research, technology development,
capacity building, and industry collaboration in focused thematic areas, Centers
of Excellence (CoEs) are established for advancing specialized domains within
the innovation ecosystem. These dedicated entities concentrate expertise,
resources, and infrastructure in strategic areas that align with national priorities
and emerging technological frontiers. By creating these specialized hubs,
governments and organizations can develop critical mass in targeted fields, foster
interdisciplinary collaboration, and accelerate knowledge creation and application.
These centers also serve as bridges between academic research and industrial
application, facilitating technology transfer and commercialization of innovations.
By establishing visible, high-performing institutions in priority sectors, Centers of
Excellence enhance national competitiveness, attract international partnerships,
and provide leadership in addressing complex societal and technological challenges
that require sustained, focused effort and specialized expertise.
Several Centers of Excellence (CoEs) in India have established themselves as Pathways To Progress:
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significant contributors to the national innovation ecosystem. While comprehensive
performance metrics are limited in the public domain, these centers have
demonstrated impact through their research output, industry collaborations, and
talent development.
These dedicated entities provide multiple systemic benefits to India’s innovation
ecosystem, including efficient resource utilization, talent retention, knowledge
translation between academia and industry, specialized human resource
development, and enhanced national competitiveness in priority sectors. India
has established numerous successful CoEs across various domains that have
demonstrated significant impact.
• In technology, C-DAC has pioneered indigenous supercomputing capabilities
through its PARAM series,
• CEERI has advanced semiconductor research and microelectronics
development essential for manufacturing capabilities.
• The CoE-IoT in Bengaluru supports IoT solution development and testing,
• while specialised centers at institutions like IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, and
various regional innovation hubs focus on emerging technologies including
flexible electronics, AI, blockchain, and data analytics.
• Industry-academia partnership models such as IIT Madras Research Park have
achieved remarkable success, incubating over 200 startups and generating
numerous patents.
• Sector-specific CoEs address challenges in automotive research, healthcare
technology, and biotechnology, while regional innovation centers ensure
geographic diversity in entrepreneurial support.
Despite these accomplishments, evaluating CoE performance remains challenging
due to inconsistent metrics, limited public data on impact assessments, variable
sustainability models, and gaps in commercialization pathways—issues that must
be addressed to maximize these canter’s contributions to India’s development
goals.
There are government funded incubators, corporate and academic-level incubators,
few of them listed below:
Public Sector Incubators
1. 70+ Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) at academic institutions
2. 20+ Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Parks (STEPs)
3. 40+ Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE)
centers
4. 10+ Bio-incubators under BIRAC
5. 15+ Biotechnology Parks across India Pathways To Progress:
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Private and Corporate Incubators
1. T-Hub in Hyderabad (India’s largest incubator)
2. Microsoft Accelerator Program
3. Cisco LaunchPad
4. Shell E4 Program (energy startups)
5. Invest India’s Startup India Hub
Academic Institution Incubators
1. IIT Bombay’s Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE)
2. IIM Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship
(CIIE)
3. IISc Bangalore’s Society for Innovation and Development (SID)
4. IIT Delhi’s Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT)
5. IIT Madras Research Park
Knowledge Clusters
Knowledge clusters are regionally concentrated ecosystems that bring together multiple
stakeholders like government, academia, industry, R&D institutions, and civil society to
collectively reflect a hybrid Triple helix linkages emerging in select sectors. They foster
collaborative research, policy integration, and resource sharing across a region. Unlike
Innovation hubs, these facilitate Macro-level networks spanning multiple sectors and
institutions to address regional or national priorities.
One good example is the knowledge linkages in Life science clusters. Figure 3.17
highlights one of the interesting linkages that is bringing different partners together for
creating an enabling ecosystem– university-industry and Government. The Bangalore
Life Science Cluster (BLiSc) along with the ecosystem of an incubator C-CAMP, receives
significant support from BIRAC in terms of setting up regional entrepreneurship centres
(BREC). This partnership involves BIRAC providing funding and creating platforms
for C-CAMP and the cluster’s startups to access resources, mentorship, and grants for
developing innovative bioscience technologies.
Figure 3.22: Collaboration of BIRAC with BLiSc and C-CAMP Pathways To Progress:
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Another good example of an Innovation cluster is Genome Valley, a Life Science cluster
in Hyderabad developed through public-private partnership. It has various types of
facilities such as wet laboratories, incubation facilities, testing facilities, clinical research
management, etc. It has emerged as a hub for the vaccine and bulk drugs. The cluster has
over 200 life sciences companies, including MNCs like Novartis, AMRI, Dupont, Aizant,
and Daichi. Major vaccine manufacturers like Shanta Sanofi, Bharat Biotech International
Limited, Indian Immunologicals Limited, Biological E. Limited, Globion, SAMI labs are in
this Valley. It contributes over 65% of the domestic supplies in India and exports across
the world and has further consolidated its position with COVID-19 vaccine production.
The US pharmacopoeia has also set up a facility in Genome valley, one of the first facilities
outside the US. Genome valley is well connected with other knowledge institutions,
clusters within the city and outside
Figure 3.23: Geographical connections with Genome valley.
(Source: https://koncepo.com/news-detail/the-emerging-story-of-genome-valley-cluster) Pathways To Progress:
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There are eight operational clusters till date listed below in a map view along with their
primary thematic domains:
Figure 3.24: Existing Knowledge clusters in India
(Source: Compiled with information obtained from PSA website)
3.2 Initiatives at the State Level
In a large and diverse country like India, states play a key role in creating a strong national
innovation ecosystem. Strong alignment of national missions and policies with regional
development strategies is a catalyst for creating a strong innovation driven growth. The
Government of India is dedicated to enhancing the nation’s innovation performance and
has recognized the necessity for a tailored framework to assess the innovation capacity
and capabilities of its States and Union Territories (UTs). This realization inspired the
development of the India Innovation Index framework, aimed at motivating States and
UTs to evaluate and enhance their innovation ecosystems and performance, ultimately
contributing to the overall innovation advancement in India.
Throughout India, nearly every state and union territory has implemented specific
policies for science, technology, and innovation, aimed at enhancing their startup
ecosystems, encouraging research and development, and advancing entrepreneurship
in critical growth sectors. As of mid-2023, 31 out of 36 states/UT’s have a dedicated
startup policy, many formulated after the central Startup India initiative began in 2016.
These state policies provide crucial funding, mentorship and market-access support
for startups, and even incentives for incubators and universities. Together with central
schemes, this has fuelled India’s booming startup ecosystem: as of Dec 2023, there were
117,254 DPIIT-recognized startups creating over 12.4 lakh jobs across the country. Pathways To Progress:
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An overview of key state policies and their respective outcomes is presented below:
In the southern part of India being a pioneer in state-led startup support, Andhra
Pradesh’s Startup Policy 4.0 (2024–29) emphasizes on electronics, agritech, and IT-
enabled services, with the goal of creating substantial employment opportunities. It
introduced India’s first Startup & Innovation Policy in 2014, long before most other states.
The government positions AP as a “Leader in fostering innovation”. Its latest Innovation
& Startup Policy (4.0, 2024–29) sets very ambitious targets: 20,000 new startups and at
least 100,000 jobs in five years. AP’s policy emphasizes incubation parks (like Amravati’s
IT parks), grants for entrepreneurs, and industry-academia R&D tie-ups. It also makes it
easier for startups to access state procurement and investment networks.
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Karnataka, home to Bengaluru, India’s “Silicon Valley”, launched its Startup Policy 2022–
27 to strengthen its leadership in innovation. Rolled out by the Karnataka Innovation and
Technology Society (KITS) in Dec 2022, the policy supports the entire startup lifecycle
through funding, infrastructure, and industry linkages. Key initiatives include 50 NAIN
centres to boost student entrepreneurship, a `100 crore VC fund for emerging tech,
and Elevate Idea2PoC grants (up to `50 lakh).
19
It also backs women entrepreneurs
(loans up to `10 lakh, 25% VC fund reserved) and promotes startups beyond Bengaluru
via rural innovation hubs and regional incentives. Karnataka is at the forefront with
its Startup Policy 2022–27 and K-Tech initiatives, which concentrate on IT, deep-tech,
and emerging fields such as AI, robotics, and ESDM, bolstered by a robust network of
incubators and Centers of Excellence.
Telangana’s T-Hub and Innovation Policy prioritize areas like AI, life sciences, and
agritech. T-Hub (Technology Hub), established in 2015, serves as a ground breaking
public–private partnership that brings together the Government of Telangana, leading
academic institutions (IIIT-Hyderabad, ISB, NALSAR), and the private sector. It functions
based on the esteemed triple helix model—integrating government, academia, and
industry to stimulate innovation. Through programs such as T-Fund, T-Hub implements
Telangana’s State Innovation Policy by providing organized financial assistance to
nascent startups. The potential for scaling is highlighted with T-Hub 2.0, which is set to
elevate Telangana into a worldwide center for innovation.
Tamil Nadu, through StartupTN and its Innovation Policy, focuses on sectors including
manufacturing, electronics, and renewable energy, providing seed funding and
connections to global markets. This aims to create 5,000 tech startups and position
the state as a global innovation hub. It focused on infrastructure, regulatory ease, and
academia-industry linkages, attracting nationwide entrepreneurs. Under the Startup TN
brand, the state now hosts thousands of startups and a high density of incubators.
20
Post-
2023, Tamil Nadu deepened funding, emphasized social inclusion, expanded regionally,
and entered sectors like space and defence tech.
Kerala’s Startup Mission (KSUM) promotes healthtech, edtech, and fintech, supported by
a strong pipeline of student innovation. MIT and KSUM have collaborated to create the
Kerala Startup Mission, a state-wide initiative that supports over 6,500 startups through
18
https://apit.ap.gov.in/assets/files/2025ITC_36424_MS9_E.pdf
19
https://eitbt.karnataka.gov.in/startup/public/policy/en
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incubation, acceleration, and ecosystem-building. The mission fosters decentralization
through 530 Innovation & Entrepreneurship Development Cells (IEDCs) and 60+
incubators, including FabLabs and Super Fab Lab in Kochi. The ecosystem includes
LEAP Coworks, innovation grants, patent subsidies, and early-stage venture funding.
Kerala’s startup ecosystem is growing rapidly—expanding at an annual rate of 20%, with
around 3,500 ventures currently active, indicating its dynamic evolution. i4G 2024 is
a government program inviting startups and innovators to pitch emerging technology-
based solutions for public adoption, through pilot implementations assessed by mixed
evaluation panels.
21
In western India, Gujarat’s Innovation Policy is built on a layered and forward-looking
framework that harnesses academia, industry, and government to cultivate an innovation-
driven growth model. Central to this ecosystem is the Student Startup and Innovation
Policy (SSIP 2.0) (2022–2027), which aims to embed innovation directly within
educational institutions—supporting up to 10,000 student-led prototypes, enabling
5,000 IP filings, and establishing pre-incubation infrastructure across 500 colleges
and universities, while facilitating physical and virtual incubation of startups via i-Hub
Gujarat.
22
While it may not have a standalone “State Innovation Policy” like Karnataka or
Tamil Nadu, its ecosystem is policy-rich, structured, and deeply institutionalized. As of
2025, Gujarat hosts over 13,000 DPIIT-recognized startups across sectors like healthcare,
IT, agri-tech, and e-mobility, with hubs in Ahmedabad, Surat, and Vadodara. Gujarat has
consistently ranked as a “Best Performer” in India’s State Startup Rankings, reflecting
its leadership in inclusive and innovation-driven entrepreneurship. Complementing this,
the Scheme for Assistance for Startups and Innovation (under the Industrial Policy
2020) offers targeted seed funding (up to `30 lakh), sustained allowances for early-
stage ventures, and has disbursed over `60 crore to more than 400 startups as of
April 2025. Additionally, the Gujarat Global Capability Centre (GCC) Policy 2025–
30 seeks to elevate the state’s innovation capacity by attracting advanced research
and development centres, promoting collaboration between multinationals and local
innovators, and incentivizing both capital and operational investments, ultimately aiming
to create 50,000 skilled jobs and draw `10,000 crore in investments. Together, these
policies reflect a robust and comprehensive approach to innovation from grassroots
educational engagement to global technological collaboration positioning Gujarat as a
key innovation hub in India.
Maharashtra’s Startup Policy (2018–23) aimed to create 10,000 startups and 5 lakh
jobs, and exceeded expectations with over 13,500 DPIIT-recognized startups by 2023.
Backed by `5,000 crore in funding, 15 incubators, and the Maharashtra State Innovation
Society, the state built a strong innovation ecosystem (startupindia.gov.in). In 2024–
25, it expanded efforts through virtual incubation, a unified digital facilitation system
for faster approvals, and a `1,200 crore ITI upgrade to boost youth entrepreneurship.
Policies like 10% direct procurement from startups, the `500 crore MahaAgri-AI initiative,
and international MoUs further cemented Maharashtra’s role as a hub for inclusive,
tech-driven growth. Maharashtra backs AI, drones, and Industry 4.0 through the State
Innovation Society and enhanced ITIs.
21
https://kdisc.kerala.gov.in/en/
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Rajasthan’s Innovation Policy, led by the iStart initiative, nurtures startups from ideation
to commercialization through incubation, seed funding, and mentoring support. The
state offers monthly allowances, grants up to `10 lakh, and institutional incentives
to strengthen innovation infrastructure. With over 6,000 startups registered, `40+
crore disbursed, and 40,000 jobs created, the policy has significantly boosted the
entrepreneurial landscape. Upcoming initiatives such as the Rajasthan AI Policy 2025
further reinforce its commitment to emerging technologies and inclusive innovation.
23

Goa’s Innovation Policy aims to create a technology-driven entrepreneurial ecosystem
by providing incubation, research and development incentives, and intellectual property
rights support through the Startup Goa initiative. The state is enhancing its innovation
capabilities with the AI Mission 2027, which involves the establishment of AI excellence
hubs and global capability centers to promote technology-driven growth. Furthermore,
initiatives such as the Open Innovation Challenge motivate startups and students to
collaboratively develop scalable solutions in sectors like tourism, waste management,
and agriculture, thereby strengthening Goa’s ambition to become a center for creative
and sustainable innovation.
24

In the Northern states, Uttar Pradesh operates the Startup UP and Startup Haryana
initiatives, respectively, focusing on electronics, food processing, and agritech aimed
at making UP among the Top 3 States in the “States’ Startup Ranking” conducted by
Startup India. Uttar Pradesh’s Innovation Policy rooted in the broader Startup Policy
2020 (revised 2022) aims to cultivate a vibrant grassroots innovation ecosystem by
promoting the transition from ideation to commercialization. With a well-defined
institutional framework that features the Innovation Hub at AKTU, a Hub-and-Spoke
incubation model, and the objective of establishing 100 incubators along with 1 million
square feet of innovation space, the state has developed a strong support infrastructure
for innovators. Startups benefit from financial incentives, including a `17,500/month
sustenance allowance, prototype grants of up to `5 lakh, seed/marketing assistance
reaching up to `7.5 lakh, and patent reimbursement (`2 lakh for domestic filings and `10
lakh for international filings). The state is also swiftly progressing into deep-tech sectors
with Global Capability Centres (GCCs), policies for semiconductor and electronics
manufacturing, and extensive AI integration across various sectors through initiatives
like AI Pragya, thereby reinforcing its dedication to pioneering innovation.
25,26
Haryana launched Startup Haryana to formalize support for innovation.
27
The state’s
policy focuses on providing world-class incubator infrastructure and regulatory ease.
For example, Haryana’s policy commits to “create a world-class incubator facility” for
entrepreneurs, and it bundles incentives for incubators, startups and investors. It also
emphasizes sector-agnostic growth (from IT to agriculture to tourism) and promoting
women’s and student entrepreneurship. Key pillars include Infrastructure Augmentation
(building new incubators), Fiscal Support (tax breaks and grants) and Regulatory Easing
(simpler labour and environment) clearances.
23
https://www.startupindia.gov.in/content/sih/en/state-startup-policies/Rajasthan-state-policy.html
24
https://www.startup.goa.gov.in/index
25
https://startinup.up.gov.in/startup-policy-2020-first-amendment-2022/
26
https://invest.up.gov.in/
27
https://startupharyana.gov.in/ Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 66
Punjab fosters biotech, agri-processing, and industrial innovation through its Startup
Punjab framework. Punjab’s innovation drive is anchored in a robust ecosystem cultivated
through initiatives like Mission Innovate Punjab, Startup Punjab, and the public–private
Innovation Mission Punjab, designed to bridge academia, industry, and global investors
in catalyzing startup growth and entrepreneurship. The state boasts over 1,000 DPIIT-
recognized startups, more than 30 incubators, and a dedicated `100 crore Fund-of-
Funds to support scale-up funding via venture capital partners. Its Mission Innovate
Punjab, steered by the State Council for Science & Technology, aims to foster research-
to-commercialization pipelines through networking among universities, research
bodies, and industry, specifically targeting domains like biotech, agriculture, and applied
sciences. These efforts have positioned Punjab as a leader among the larger Indian states
in startup ecosystem maturity, particularly in institutional support and funding.
28
Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand give priority to clean energy, tourism technology,
and innovations based on local resources. Himachal Pradesh promotes innovation
through its Chief Minister’s Startup/Innovation Project, which aids entrepreneurs
by providing incubation centers, monthly sustenance allowances of `25,000 for one
year, and seed funding of up to `50 lakh under the HIMSUP Yojana. This initiative is
further enhanced by subsidies for DPR preparation, preferential land rates, and patent
reimbursements of up to `2 lakh for domestic applications and `10 lakh for foreign
applications. Established at IIT Mandi, the Catalyst incubator and iHub & HCI Foundation
support advanced technology ventures, including initiatives such as Drone Didi, which
trains rural women to become agricultural drone operators. In parallel, Uttarakhand’s
Startup Policy 2023 fosters innovation by providing recognized startups with monthly
allowances of `10,000, which can increase to `15,000 for SC/ST, women, and startups
from Category-A regions. Additionally, it offers marketing support of up to `5 lakh (or
`7.5 lakh for certain groups), reimbursement for patent costs (`1 lakh for domestic and
`5 lakh for international applications), as well as exemptions on stamp duty and SGST
reimbursement. These focused frameworks demonstrate the commitment of both states
to cultivate tech-driven and inclusive innovation ecosystems.
29
In central and eastern India, Madhya Pradesh emphasizes social innovation and technology
solutions linked to MSMEs, while Chhattisgarh’s 36Inc supports manufacturing, clean
energy, and enterprises based on tribal resources. Madhya Pradesh has meticulously
crafted its Startup Policy (2022–2027) to promote innovation throughout the state via
a robust support framework. This policy provides sustenance allowances of `10,000
per month, margin money and interest subsidies, patent assistance up to `5 lakh, as
well as concessions on lease rentals and electricity tariffs—all specifically designed to
support early-stage startups, with additional advantages for women entrepreneurs and
product-oriented businesses. Furthermore, the state encourages the establishment of
incubators by offering capital and operational grants, funding for events, and complete
reimbursement of stamp duty and registration fees. It also supports high-impact solutions
through a competitive State Innovation Challenge that awards grants of up to `1 crore.
Chhattisgarh, through its Startup Policy 2019–24, enhances innovation by providing
administrative support and streamlined funding avenues. A significant initiative is the
28
https://pscst.punjab.gov.in/en/pscst-signs-mou-with-startup-punjab
29
State & Central Startup Portals: startuphimachal.hp.gov.in, emerginghimachal.hp.gov.in, startupindia.gov.in Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 67
establishment of an i-Hub along with a transit campus for the National Forensic Sciences
University (NFSU)—a strategic effort aimed at fostering innovation and entrepreneurship,
especially in technology-driven and forensic science sectors.
Odisha’s Startup Odisha encourages women entrepreneurship and rural technology.
Odisha adopted a startup policy (2016) aiming to make the state a top innovation
hub by 2020, with tax breaks and land for startups (startupodisha.gov.in). Odisha’s
innovation agenda is driven by a robust institutional framework (Startup Odisha), a clear
ambition to support 5,000 startups by 2025, plus substantial seed funding, incubation
infrastructure such as O-Hub, and targeted sectoral initiatives spanning biotechnology,
electronics, and AI. Recent flagship efforts include the Odisha AI Policy-2025—
emphasizing infrastructure, skilling, ethical governance, and AI-led public innovation—
and the launch of the Marine Biotechnology Research & Innovation Corridor (OMBRIC)
to catalyse blue-economy startups from local coastal resources.
Jharkhand advocates for advancements in mining technology and agro-processing.
West Bengal’s Startup Bengal fosters innovation in creative industries and MSMEs.
Jharkhand, in contrast, is currently experiencing a period of significant growth,
having introduced the Startup Policy-2023 with the objective of nurturing 1,000 new
startup concepts by 2028 through the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Innovation Lab (ABVIL)—
which includes financial assistance, idea assessment, incubation, and mentorship.
Simultaneously, collaborations between universities and research institutions (such
as CUJ with ICAR-IIAB), incubation support through alliances with organizations like
IIM-Ranchi and XLRI, along with infrastructure development driven by industrial policy
initiatives, indicate a maturing ecosystem. On the other hand, West Bengal is focusing
on extensive technology infrastructure to drive innovation. The Bengal Silicon Valley
Tech Hub in Kolkata is planned to serve as a significant convergence area for IT/ITeS, AI,
research and development, data centers, and emerging technologies, with an anticipated
creation of 100,000 direct jobs upon its completion in 2025. This hub exemplifies the
state’s approach to establishing global-scale technological infrastructure to promote
innovation-driven industrial advancement.
The North Eastern region collectively focuses on inclusive innovation by merging
traditional strengths with contemporary entrepreneurial ecosystems. Generally, the
states implement a model that integrates incubation support, seed funding, mentoring,
and skill development, while customizing sectoral priorities to align with local resources
and cultural assets. This approach guarantees that innovation not only propels economic
growth but also sustains livelihoods, especially in rural and semi-urban regions.
Assam has positioned itself as a leader in regional innovation through its flagship initiative,
Assam Startup – The NEST, which serves as a platform for emerging entrepreneurs in
agritech, handicrafts, and IT-enabled services. The state provides organized incubation,
access to investors, and industry mentorship to enhance value chains in agriculture and
indigenous crafts, while establishing Guwahati as a center for digital entrepreneurship.
Meghalaya, via its PRIME (Promotion and Incubation of Market-driven Enterprises)
initiative, employs a distinctly market-oriented strategy for entrepreneurship. PRIME
emphasizes capacity building, incubation, and funding access while promoting ventures Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 68
in agriculture, tourism, and creative sectors. It is notable for its focus on youth-led
enterprises, tackling both job creation and innovation concurrently. Manipur capitalizes
on its cultural and resource-based advantages by fostering startups in handloom,
handicrafts, and horticulture. Its policies emphasize seed funding, incubation programs,
and business connections that aid in transforming traditional crafts into scalable
businesses. By connecting grassroots artisans with entrepreneurial ecosystems, Manipur
nurtures innovation that is deeply embedded in its heritage. Nagaland emphasizes
innovation based on resources, particularly in industries related to bamboo, handicrafts,
and agro-processing. The state’s initiatives offer incubation, seed funding, and market
access, motivating local entrepreneurs to transform indigenous resources into value-
added products. This strategy not only promotes economic diversification but also
strengthens cultural identity.
Sikkim incorporates sustainability into its innovation framework, concentrating on
organic agriculture, eco-tourism, and wellness sectors. By merging incubation assistance
with specific funding, the state establishes itself as a frontrunner in green innovation,
aligning entrepreneurial efforts with its global standing as India’s pioneering organic
state. Tripura focuses on food processing, bamboo products, and IT-enabled services,
implementing policies that provide seed grants, mentorship, and incubation. This
combined strategy fosters resource-driven industries while progressively enhancing
capabilities in technology-oriented enterprises, ensuring a well-rounded innovation
ecosystem. Arunachal Pradesh channels its innovation efforts towards horticulture,
handicrafts, and tourism, backing community-driven enterprises with incubation
resources and financial support. Its approach emphasizes grassroots entrepreneurship,
ensuring that innovation reaches remote and rural regions where traditional industries
can be modernized and expanded.
Union Territories like Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir have recently introduced startup
policies, where Delhi is concentrating on procurement and seed funding for technology-
driven enterprises, and J&K is encouraging entrepreneurship in handicrafts, tourism, and
agritech. Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 69
Table 3.1: List of State/UT government initiatives with focus and outcome
State / UT Initiatives Domain areasKey focus Salient aspects
Andhra
Pradesh
AP
Innovation
& Startup
Policy 4.0
(2024–
29); AP
Innovation
Society
Electronics,
agritech, and
IT-enabled
services
Startup One
single window,
CoEs, Amravati’s
IT parks
incubators
India’s first Startup
& Innovation Policy
in 2014, Leader in
fostering innovation,
New policy targets
20,000 startups/1 lakh
jobs in 5 yrs;
Arunachal
Pradesh
Startup
Arunachal
(planning &
industry)
Horticulture,
handicrafts,
and tourism,
Grants, youth
entrepreneurship,
grassroots
entrepreneurship,
Targets 250 startups in
five years, backed by a
substantial `38.45 crore
seed funding corpus
Assam
Assam
Startup – The
Nest
Agritech,
handicrafts,
and IT-
enabled
services
Incubation, seed
grants, market
linkage
600+ startups
incubated; 8,000+
jobs; `100+ cr grants/
investments mobilised
Chhattisgarh
Startup
Policy
2019–24,
36Inc (state-
backed
incubator)
Green &
Renewable
Technologies,
Agri-Business
& Food
Processing,
Biotech &
Health Tech
Incubation
support, i-Hub
along with a
transit campus
for the National
Forensic
Sciences
University
(NFSU)
36Inc cohorts/
incubatees published
Delhi (UT)
Delhi Startup
Policy (2022)

Seed support,
procurement
Policy portal/news
outline benefits & hubs
Goa (UT) Startup Goa
Cutting-
edge techn-
ologies,
renew-able
energy,
waste
manage-
ment,
health-care,
educ-ation,
food and
beve-rages
and mining
Secure funding
access, facilitate
government–
startup
collaboration,
empowering
women
entrepreneurs,
Open Innovation
Challenge
279 startups certified;
₹4 cr incentives; 33%
women-founded
ventures, 6 incubators Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 70
Gujarat
Student
Startup &
Innovation
Policy (SSIP
2.0); iCreate
Healthcare,
IT, agri-
tech, and
e-mobility;
focus on
elect-ronics,
manufa-
cturing
Student grants,
prototyping, IP
support
Best Performer” in
India’s State Startup
Rankings; SSIP 2.0
supports up to 1,000
student startups/yr and
50 incubators; home to
national initiatives like
iCreate
Haryana
Startup
Haryana
(Policy
2022)
Digital
Innovation
& IT Infrast-
ructure,
Electric
Vehicles
(EVs) &
E-Mobility
Seed grants,
incubation,
procurement
support, Startup
Warehouse
in Gurugram;
incentives for
land, power,
interest; sector-
agnostic growth
1740 recognised
startups by 2023;
innovation spreading
beyond NCR;
active promotion of
student and women
entrepreneurs
Himachal
Pradesh
HP Startup/
NAVTP
initiatives
Rural
infrast-
ructure,
crafts, arts,
water &
sanitation,
renewable
energy,
healthcare
Seed grants,
incubation
14 incubation
centers; BIC-HPU
(Biotechnology
Incubation Centre,
Himachal Pradesh
University) has
incubated 30 startups
(by 2025)
Jammu &
Kashmir
J&K Startup
Policy
(2024)
Disruptive &
Deep Tech
Emphasis
Seed support,
incubation, angel
mobilization;
Grassroots
Innovation
2000 new startups to
be incubated within 5
years
Jharhand
Startup
Jharkhand
Technology,
manufa-
cturing,
agri-culture,
and renew-
able energy
Seed funding,
incubators
1,000 startups by 2028
via the Atal Bihari
Vajpayee Innovation
Lab (ABVIL) framework Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 71
Karnataka
Karnataka
Startup
Policy
(2022–27);
K-Tech
Startup Cell;
KITVEN;
Booster Kit
K-Tech
initiatives,
which
concentrate
on IT, deep-
tech, and
emerging
fields such
as AI,
robotics,
and ESDM,
SGST
reimbursement,
patent/quality
reimbursements,
CoEs in AI/
Robotics/
ESDM; excels
in grassroots
innovation
(sanitation
tech, green
energy); global
recognition
4,000+ startups,
45 unicorns,
144 incubators/
accelerators; ~50% of
India’s unicorn valuation
centred in Bangalore;
ranked best-performing
state in 2022; 88
unicorns (2024); Top
Performer in national
rankings
Kerala
Kerala
Startup
Mission
(KSUM)
Healthtech,
edtech, and
fintech
Statewide
incubators,
student
innovation,
grants
6,200–6,500+
registered startups; 60+
incubators; 1.0M+ sq ft
incubation; ecosystem
value ~$1.7B (2021–23)
and 20% annual growth
reported.
Madhya
Pradesh
MP Startup
Policy
(2022); MP
Startup
Center
IT, ITES,
and Digital
Innovation,
AgriTech
Incubation
grants, market
access, mentor
network
Startup recognition
grew 30% (to 5,230),
including a 34% boost
in women-led ventures.
More than 54,000 jobs
generated through
startups and MSMEs.
Maharashtra
Maharashtra
State
Innovation
Society
(MSInS);
Startup
Maharashtra
AI, drones,
and Industry
4.0
Seed/scale-
up schemes;
innovation
challenges in AI/
drone/robotics
Rs 1,200 cr ITI upgrade
plan; ~13,500 DPIIT
startups by 2023;
India’s biggest startup
base (Mumbai–Pune);
vibrant innovation
events & angel funding
ecosystem
Manipur
Startup
Manipur
handloom,
handicrafts,
and
horticulture.
Seed funding,
idea grants
1,300+ startups
registered; ₹10+ cr
grants disbursed Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 72
Meghalaya
PRIME
(Promotion
& Incubation
of Market-
driven
Enterprises)
agriculture,
tourism,
and creative
sectors
Entrepren-
eurship
training, grants,
mentoring
PRIME reports
3,000+ entrepreneurs
supported; 100+
startups incubated;
2,500+ jobs
Nagaland
Startup
Nagaland
Industries
related to
bamboo,
handicrafts,
and agro-
processing
Incubation,
grants, mentor
connects
Program portal with
cohorts & schemes
Odisha
Startup
Odisha
(Policy 2016;
revised)
Social and
climate tech
startups
Recognition,
grants,
incubators,
women
entrepreneurship
1,500+ startups
facilitated; 25+
incubators; target
5,000 startups by 2025;
Rising startup visibility
in Tier 2/3 cities
Punjab
Startup
Punjab
Deep tech &
Emer-ging
Techno-
logies
Incubators,
grants, market
access
800+ registered
startups, 30 incubators
Rajasthan
iStart
Rajasthan
(DoIT&C)
Water,
sanitation,
healthcare,
renewable
energy,
crafts
Incubation
(Techno Hub),
seed funds,
QRate, school
programs
6,165 startups
registered; ~40,000
jobs; `1,005 cr+
investments mobilised
Sikkim
Startup
Sikkim

Recognition,
facilitation,
incentives

Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Startups &
Innovation
Policy;
StartupTN
(TANSIM)
manu-
facturing,
electro-
nics, and
renewable
energy,
Grants,
incubators
(120+), market
access, registry
4
th
in 2023 DPIIT
rankings; major startup
hubs in Chennai,
Coimbatore; StartupTN
ecosystem valued at
~$28B; Chennai hosts
~6,152 startups; state
growing ~23% annually Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 73
Telangana
T-Hub
(state-
backed
incubator);
Innovation
Policy
AI, life
sciences,
and
agritech.
Anchored
on T-Hub
(Asia’s largest
incubator);
startup-friendly
tenders; co-
investment
T-Fund;
T-Innovation Cell
3,000+ startups and
200+ corporates
engaged by T-Hub;
550+ mentors; 60+ VCs
partnered.
Tripura
Startup
Tripura
food
processing,
bamboo
products,
and IT-
enabled
services
Seed capital,
incubation
Policy/portal outlines
benefits and cohorts
Uttar
Pradesh
UP Startup
Policy;
Startup UP
Agritech,
deep tech,
fintech,
health-
tech, semi-
conductor
manu-
facturing
Seed funds,
incubator
network, grants
13,300+ DPIIT-
recognized startups,
exceeding the 2025
target; 8 unicorns and
2 soonicorns; 100,000+
jobs created, with 49%
of startups located in
Tier-II/III cities.
Uttarakhand
Startup
Uttarakhand
Travel &
Tourism,
Food
Processing &
Agriculture
(including
Horticulture)
Incubators, seed
grants
Marketing support of
up to `5 lakh (or `7.5
lakh for certain groups),
reimbursement for
patent costs (`1 lakh
for domestic and `5
lakh for international
applications
West
Bengal
Startup
Bengal
(WBIDC)
IT/ITeS,
AI, data
centres,
e-comm-
erce, IoT,
and R&D
hubs.
Facilitation,
incubation,
market access
Establishment of
Entrepreneurship
Development Centre
Network (EDCN), IT
exports surged from
`4,500 crore in 2011 to
`35,000 crore in 2025
State innovation policies have emerged as a cornerstone of India’s innovation
ecosystem, playing a crucial role in fostering regional entrepreneurship, strengthening
R&D frameworks, and promoting inclusive economic growth. By supporting startups,
establishing incubation centers, and fostering collaboration between academia, industry,
and government, these policies enable states to harness local talent and address region- Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 74
specific challenges. Collectively, they contribute to national objectives such as job
creation, digital transformation, and sustainable development, while also enhancing
India’s global competitiveness, attracting foreign investment, and positioning the country
as a hub for innovation and technology leadership.
To assess the impact and efficiency of these initiatives, it is essential to
evaluate how effectively states utilize their available resources to generate innovative
solutions. Figure 3.25 illustrates this by mapping each state’s innovation efficiency,
calculated by dividing its performance scores by its enablers scores. Comparing current
rankings with previous ones provides insights into progress over time and creates a
healthy competitive environment, motivating states to continuously improve their
innovation performance.
Innovation Scores
Efficiency Ratio
Figure 3.25: Efficiency in Innovation of Indian States.
(The states that score an efficiency of less than 1 are those which have not been able to attain a level of
performance proportionate to the strength of their enabling factors.)
(Source: State R&D Ranking 2024 - www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2021-01/
IndiaInnovationReport2020Book.pdf)
In summary, these policies encompass a wide range of sectors including deep-tech, IT/ICT,
manufacturing, agriculture, renewable energy, biotechnology, and creative industries,
offering a combination of fiscal incentives, incubation networks, skill development, and
international connections—thereby fostering a multi-sectoral approach to enhance the
national science and technology innovation ecosystem.
Several Indian States and Union Territories (UTs) have launched these above-mentioned
initiatives, policies, and institutional frameworks. These efforts are focused on enhancing
innovation inputs (like education, infrastructure, R&D) and outputs (like patents, startups,
and publications), and are designed to strengthen their local innovation ecosystems.
This approach not only highlights each state’s strengths and areas for improvement but
also fosters competitive federalism, inspiring states to learn from each other and adopt
best practices to drive economic growth and address societal challenges.
The India Innovation Index is an annual exercise conducted by NITI Aayog in collaboration
with the Institute for Competitiveness, aimed at evaluating and benchmarking the Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 75
innovation performance of Indian states and union territories.
30

This comprehensive framework assesses states across a range of parameters grouped
into two major dimensions:
• Enablers (factors that drive innovation such as human capital, investment,
knowledge workers, business environment, and safety/legal environment) and,
• Performance (actual results in terms of knowledge output and diffusion). It also
aligns with India’s broader vision of fostering innovation-led growth, in line with
national missions such as Startup India, Digital India, and Atmanirbhar Bharat.
By tracking progress over time, the India Innovation Index plays a vital role in driving
evidence-based policymaking and enhancing India’s global innovation standing.
The Index measures and ranks states and union territories based on their innovation
capabilities and performance. This serves as a comprehensive tool for policymakers
nationwide, enabling them to pinpoint challenges that need attention and strengths to
capitalize on when formulating economic growth strategies for their respective regions.
States are increasingly adopting decentralized, community-driven approaches to address
regional challenges while aligning with national innovation goals. The India Innovation
Index has revealed that innovation in India is often concentrated in regions with a legacy
of industrialization and economic growth. Southern states, in particular, have emerged
as leaders, with Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu consistently ranking at the top.
Image 3.5: Release of Third Edition of India Innovation Index
(Source: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1842887)
The States Startup Ranking Framework was launched in 2018 under the Startup India
Scheme as an annual exercise with the objective to augment the Startup ecosystem in
the States and Union Territories across the country. Focus is on initiatives and policies
undertaken in respective jurisdictions. The Framework has also introduced an effective Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 76
Feedback Collection Mechanism from beneficiary startups and incubators present across
states and Union Territories to share their experience in handholding and support that
they have received from respective governments. The Startup rankings intend to bring
constructive competition among states to strengthen their startup enabling ecosystem.
This has created a new synergy among the states, with each state coming up with
their own startup policies and creating various institutional mechanisms to strengthen
their Startup ecosystem. Startup ranking correlates strongly with effective policies and
support systems that states have created.
Startup India has a strong focus on the engagement of stakeholders
at the level of States and Union Territories.
Most of the states in the country, have in collaboration with the Department of Science
and Technology (DST), GOI, established State S&T Councils to strengthen smooth
partnerships between central and state governments in order to foster innovative
capabilities in S&T. For instance: Karnataka’s success is attributed to its robust knowledge
ecosystem, strong business environment, and significant investment in research and
development. Maharashtra, another top performer, excels in creating an enabling
environment for innovation. The Maharashtra Agri-Business and Rural Transformation
(SMART) Project (2018) initiative, promotes Agri-tech innovations like AI-driven farm
management, drone-based crop monitoring, and climate-resilient practices. Innovation
in Northeast India is also gaining momentum through technology-driven agricultural
reforms, digital infrastructure, and agroecological initiatives. The North Eastern Region
Agri-Commodity e-Connect (NE-RACE) Portal, launched on July 12, 2024, by Union
Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, a digital initiative which connects 50,000 farmers to
5,000 buyers, over five years via a digital Farm-to-Business platform, offering direct
negotiations, real-time pricing, multilingual support, and logistics linkages.
Image 3.6: NITI organized a workshop on Building Synergies in Innovation Ecosystem held in Gujarat Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 77
The Gujarat Council has been actively involved in promoting S&T in Gujarat through
various initiatives, including establishing regional science centers, supporting research
and development, and fostering collaboration with other organizations. They are also
focusing on science popularization and promoting emerging technologies like AI and
Robotics. Gujarat also operates a Technology and Innovation Support Centre (TISC)
to support technology developers and users. A recent workshop on building synergies
in the Indian innovation ecosystem was organized by NITI Aayog with Gujarat State
Science & Technology Council as a host. A few more of the examples that stand out
are: Kerala’s Startup Mission, Telangana’s T-Hub and Haryana government’s Startup
Haryana run by HarTron.
3.3 Initiatives from Industry and Industry Associations
Industry-led initiatives that ensure innovative capabilities often take the form of strategic
partnerships, research consortia, innovation hubs, and incubators, which are designed to
foster a dynamic ecosystem of knowledge exchange and technological advancement.
These initiatives frequently collaborate within the university- industry- government
(U-I-G) framework, to accelerate innovation and bridge the gap between theoretical
research and practical application. Industries drive these collaborations by identifying
market needs and providing funding, infrastructure, and real-world problem statements.
Universities contribute with cutting-edge research, academic expertise, and a skilled talent
pool, while government agencies facilitate these interactions through policy support,
grants, and regulatory frameworks. Together, they create synergistic environments that
support the development of emerging technologies, commercialization of research, and
economic growth. For example, innovation clusters like Silicon Valley or biotech hubs
in Boston thrive on such collaborative efforts, where shared goals and co-investment in
R&D lead to sustained innovation and competitiveness.
The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) Innovation
Hub serves as a catalyst for technological advancement across India’s economy. It aims
to foster innovation, enable collaboration between stakeholders, accelerate startup
growth, develop tech talent, drive digital transformation, promote research, attract
investment, and advocate for favourable policies benefiting startups, established
corporations, academic institutions, and government agencies through structured
programs. These could include incubation services to startup, facilitating technology
developments through funding CoEs, organizing networking events. Operating through
a multi-stakeholder governance model, NASSCOM Innovation Hubs are strategically
located across Tier 1 cities (Bangalore, Delhi NCR, Mumbai), Tier 2 cities (Kochi, Indore),
and specialized domain hubs.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is another such industry body that provides
incubation services, technology demonstrations, and support infrastructure (physical
spaces, specialized laboratories, technical assistance, IP guidance, and business
development support). CII’s innovation centers operate nationwide through regional
hubs in metropolitan cities, state chapters aligned with local industrial strengths, and
sector-specific clusters, with funding through a combination of CII resources, member
contributions, government partnerships, and program revenues. CII’s Startup Centre and
Centre of Excellence for Innovation and Entrepreneurship connect industry, startups, Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
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Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 78
academia, and government to drive economic growth through innovation.
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has been
instrumental in fostering and advancing India’s innovation landscape by serving as
a crucial link among government, academia, and the private sector. As a prominent
industry association, FICCI has launched and supported numerous initiatives designed
to enhance innovation, entrepreneurship, and the commercialization of research. It has
partnered with educational institutions and research entities to encourage research that
is relevant to industry and to facilitate the transfer of technology. Through initiatives
such as the FICCI Innovation and Technology Commercialization Centre, it has aimed to
connect innovators with industry stakeholders, providing mentorship, access to funding,
and market connections. FICCI has also played a significant role in advocating for policies
that support innovation, actively participating in the development of favourable policies
and reforms in collaboration with governmental agencies. By hosting innovation summits,
startup expos, and forums for knowledge exchange, FICCI consistently fosters dialogue
and collaboration among academia, industry, and government, thereby strengthening
the foundation of a cooperative innovation ecosystem in India.
The Tata Innovation Hub and InnoVerse signify a notable transformation in the
methodology of promoting innovation, distinguishing themselves from conventional
industry organizations such as FICCI, CII, and NASSCOM. Unlike these entities, which
mainly serve as advocates for policy, facilitators of collaboration between industry and
academia, and organizers of innovation conferences, the Tata initiatives are intricately
woven into the operational and strategic fabric of the Tata Group. The Innovation Hub
is dedicated to enhancing internal innovation across group companies by utilizing
advanced technologies, digital transformation, and synergies across various industries,
whereas InnoVerse functions as an open innovation platform that gathers ideas from
employees, startups, and external innovators to address genuine business challenges.
These platforms prioritize outcome-driven innovation, agile experimentation, and swift
prototyping, frequently integrating seamlessly with product development processes. Their
distinct advantage lies in cultivating an innovation-centric culture within organizations
and actively promoting co-creation, in contrast to the more generalized, policy-oriented
facilitation role assumed by associations like FICCI, CII, and NASSCOM.
3.4 Social and Grassroots Innovation
Social and grassroots innovation represents a paradigm shift in how we understand
technological development and diffusion. Unlike traditional top-down innovation systems
centered around formal R&D institutions, these approaches emerge from communities
addressing local challenges through creative problem-solving with limited resources.
This innovation pathway democratizes the innovation process, creates solutions tailored
to contextual needs, and often incorporates traditional knowledge systems that have
evolved over generations. Grassroots innovations refer to creative ideas and solutions
developed by ordinary people at the community level, especially in rural or resource-
constrained settings, to solve local problems using locally available resources. These
innovations are typically low-cost, sustainable, need-based, and inclusive, often born out
of necessity rather than formal R&D. Pathways To Progress:
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Numerous organizations throughout India have initiated significant programs aimed at
fostering social and grassroots innovation. The Honey Bee Network can be cited as one
of the most influential models of grassroot innovation. Established in late 1980s by Prof
Anil Gupta at the Indian Institute of Management, it is acting as a bridge for the formal
and informal innovation systems. Over the years it has created synergetic linkages
with individuals and communities to identify, document, and disseminate grassroot
innovations and traditional knowledge. It laid the foundation for the establishment of
the National Innovation Foundation (NIF), in 2000 under the Department of Science
& Technology. NIF provides the formal support system for validating and scaling the
grassroot innovations through multiple level support systems including technical, legal,
and financial mechanisms. It diligently seeks out, supports, and amplifies indigenous
grassroots inventions and traditional knowledge, local ownership of innovation,
incubation, awards, and market-linkage assistance to innovators from rural areas. The
strong linkages between Honey Bee network and NIF provides an interesting and
valuable pathway for translation of grassroot innovation.
Image 3.7: Glimpses of event organized during FINE at Rashtrapati Bhavan
(Source: https://nif.org.in/upload/fine/FINE_2023_report.pdf)
Grassroots innovations are embedding inclusion and
informal knowledge into the broader innovation ecosystem
- a Quadruple Helix in action. Pathways To Progress:
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Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) established by CSIR and coordinated by the
CSIR and Ministry of AYUSH codifies India’s rich traditional knowledge especially in Ayurveda,
Unani, Siddha, and Yoga. It digitally documents this traditional medicinal knowledge in a
searchable, patent-examiners accessible format. It contains over 300,000 formulations in
these traditional knowledge systems translated into five international languages: English,
French, German, Japanese, and Spanish, and assigns each of the formulations with a unique
Traditional Knowledge Resource classifications (TKRC) system aligned with the International
patent classification (IPC) system.. Agreements signed with the European Patent Office
(EPO), United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Japan Patent Office (JPO),
United Kingdom Intellectual Property office (UKIPO) gives access to their patent examiners
to check the TKDL database for prior art searches. It has provided a formal mechanism
for protection of biopiracy, knowledge commons, preventing the misappropriation of
traditional knowledge by wrongful patent claims.
The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) has established Atal Community Innovation Centres
(ACICs) in underserved regions, providing essential infrastructure, mentorship, and rapid
prototyping facilities to enable local problem-solvers to create and test solutions that are
relevant to their contexts. The DST’s Social Innovation Programme for Products: Affordable &
Relevant to Societal Health (SPARSH) specifically funds and accelerates biotech innovations
that tackle urgent healthcare issues in marginalized communities. At the state level, Telangana
has introduced India’s first dedicated Social Innovation Policy to foster a dynamic ecosystem,
while the Maharashtra State Innovation Society actively identifies and supports socially-
conscious startups through grants and capacity-building initiatives. Additionally, NGOs
and academic institutions contribute to this collaborative environment, exemplified by the
SRISTI Social Innovation Fund (SIF), which offers mentoring and fabrication resources for
grassroots inventors, and IIM Kozhikode’s Centre of Excellence for Social Innovation, which
enhances the skills of leaders in CSR and social entrepreneurship.
India’s unique innovative initiatives for promoting grassroot innovation, protecting
traditional knowledge the Honey Bee Network, NIF, TKDL are being cited as model
examples in different countries. They have influenced the development of institutions in
similar directions in many countries.
3.5 Major Events pertaining to innovation
India organizes a series of flagship events and activities that catalyse innovation, foster
entrepreneurship, and strengthen the national R&D ecosystem. Prominent among them are:
Startup Mahakumbh - A landmark event to create a unified platform for stakeholders
across the innovation value chain: startups, incubators, investors, academia, government
agencies, and global partners. Positioned as one of the largest congregations, the
event plays a pivotal role in fostering cross-sectoral collaboration and celebrating
entrepreneurial excellence in the country and catalyse innovation-led development
and highlight India’s growing global footprint in technology and entrepreneurship.
Bringing together over 3,000 startups, 1,000 investors, 10,000 delegates, and 50,000
visitors from 50+ countries, the focus is to cover aspects of 12 thematic pavilions
across key sectors such as DeepTech, HealthTech, AgriTech, and ClimateTech. It serves Pathways To Progress:
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Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 81
as a major platform to showcase emerging talent, especially from Tier-2 and Tier-3
regions, and strengthen India’s innovation ecosystem for a self-reliant economy.
Image 3.8: Dignitaries at Startup Mahakumbh 2025 along with G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant
(Source: https://startupmahakumbh.org/img/photos/Inaugural%20panel.jpg)
India International Science Festival -The Department of Science and Technology (DST)
organizes the India International Science Festival (IISF) receiving strong support from
various departments like Space, Atomic Energy, CSIR, and different state government
organizations with the National Innovation Foundation (NIF) as the coordinating and
implementing organization. This festival unites students, researchers, policymakers,
innovators, and the general public to honour science and promote innovation-driven
growth throughout India and beyond. Initiated in 2015, IISF features several days filled
with engaging activities such as science expos, themed exhibitions, workshops, lectures,
hackathons, and interactive outreach programs like ‘Students Science Village’, ‘Science
Safari’, and live-domain showcases.
Image 3.9: Releasing the brochure of the ninth edition of India International Science Festival (IISF)
2023 by Dr. Jitendra Singh, Hon’ble Min. of State (S&T) at the centre, Ms. A. Dhanalakshmi (Joint
Secretary, DST), Dr. M Ravichandran (Secretary MoES), Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood (PSA), Dr. Abhay
Karadikar (Secretary DST), Dr. Rajesh S. Gokhale (Secretary DBT), and Prof. Sudhir Bhaduria.
(Source: https://dst.gov.in/sites/default/files/IISF-Ease%20of%20Living1.png) Pathways To Progress:
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Pathways To Progress:
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Technology Summit - The DST-CII Technology Summit is a major yearly flagship event
that is organized together by India’s Department of Science & Technology (DST) and
the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). It plays a crucial role in promoting global
partnerships in science, technology, and innovation. The summit brings together
technology experts, policymakers, industry leaders, academic researchers, and startups
from India and other partner countries like the Netherlands, Brazil, Canada, and Russia.
They come together to discuss collaboration in various fields such as climate technologies,
advanced manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture, mobility, water, and new materials.
Image 3.10: Glimpse of the Technology Summit 2021
(Source: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1800528)
Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship- An initiative to recognise, respect,
showcase, reward innovations and to foster a supportive ecosystem for innovators, is
being organised by Rashtrapati Bhavan in association with the Department of Science
and Technology, Government of India and the National Innovation Foundation annually
since 2018 highlighting grassroots innovations from across India, providing a platform
for rural and traditional innovators to showcase problem-solving technologies.
Image 3.11: FINE inaugurated by the President of India
(Source: https://nif.org.in/upload/fine/FINE_2023_report.pdf) Pathways To Progress:
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Smart India Hackathon - A major nationwide program initiated by the Ministry of
Education’s Innovation Cell (MIC), the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE),
and various partner ministries in line with the Prime Minister’s vision to foster innovation,
entrepreneurship, and a problem-solving mindset among students, contributing to the
Digital India and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives. Started in 2017, it offers organizations a
unique platform to access innovative and cost-effective solutions to real-world challenges
while actively contributing to nation-building through innovation-led problem solving. It
provides extensive national recognition and brand visibility across premier institutions in
India, positioning companies as enablers of innovation. By engaging with talented youth
from across the country, SIH facilitates the development of out-of-the-box solutions
that address critical problems through fresh perspectives and cutting-edge approaches.
As part of the world’s largest open innovation movement, participating organizations
gain the opportunity to collaborate with some of the brightest young minds, fostering
partnerships that drive creativity, entrepreneurship, and future-ready technologies.
Image 3.12: PM Shri Narendra Modi Interaction with SIH Finalists at Grand Finale of SIH
(Source: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1988472)
YUGM Innovation Conclave: Co-hosted by the Ministry of Education and the Wadhwani
Foundation, YUGM 2025 convenes leaders from government, academia, and industry
to advance India’s innovation agenda. This landmark gathering of visionaries aims to
accelerate the translation of research into real-world outcomes, shaping a future-ready
India. In a recent conclave held in April 2025, it marked the launch of several high-impact
initiatives, including Superhubs at IIT Kanpur (focusing on AI & intelligent systems) and
IIT Bombay (dedicated to biosciences, biotechnology, and health), Wadhwani Innovation
Network (WIN) Centers for research commercialization, and a `200 crore co-funding
framework with the Anusandhan National Research Foundation to support late-stage
translational research in domains like AI, quantum tech, and health-tech. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, addressing the conclave, articulated a bold vision: “Make AI in India; Make
AI Work for India,” reinforcing the need to compress the time from idea to prototype to
product and positioning India as a rising global R&D powerhouse. Pathways To Progress:
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Image 3.13: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Dr. Jitendra Singh, Hon’ble Min. of State (S&T) along
with Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, founder of the Wadhwani Foundation at the addressing of YUGM conclave
2025
(Source: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2125248)
Semicon India: SEMICON India 2025 is a fair/event aimed at highlighting the emerging
technologies and solutions shaping the future of electronics in India. It is conducted by
SEMI IESA India and attended by Business and technology leaders, researchers, and
industry analysts from across the microelectronics supply chain. This is an annual event
and was held from September 2 to September 4, 2025 at the Yashobhoomi convention
centre in Delhi to discover the next frontier for semiconductor innovation and growth.
Image 3.14: Inauguration ceremony in SEMICON 2023
(Source: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=1942448)
FICCI Bharat R&D Summit: A flagship annual convening of leaders from industry,
academia, government, and startups, organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of
Commerce & Industry (FICCI). The summit focuses on strengthening industry–academia
collaboration to drive research commercialization, foster innovation, and shape policy
frameworks that bolster India’s R&D ecosystem. Highlights include panel discussions,
fireside chats, technology showcases, and the launch of a compendium of technologies Pathways To Progress:
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Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 85
available for commercialization. With engaged participation from senior policymakers
and thought leaders, the event is instrumental in translating academic innovation into
market-ready solutions and aligning stakeholders around India’s vision to strengthen its
global innovation leadership.
Image 3.15: FICCI Bharat R&D Summit 2024
(Source: https://bharatrndsummit.ficci.in/img/3.JPG)
NASSCOM Technology & Leadership Forum: NASSCOM hosts a series of impactful
innovation events that encompass the entire range of India’s technology ecosystem.
These events include the Digital Innovation Conclave, which delves into digital
transformation across various sectors such as healthcare, fintech, and agriculture; the
Future Forge & Tech Developer Confluence, which emphasizes deep tech strategy
and its implementation; the Design & Engineering Summit, which promotes product
research and development in semiconductors, telecommunications, and automotive
industries; the GCC Summit & Awards, which showcases leadership in innovation within
Global Capability Centers; and the People Summit, which fosters discussions on talent,
leadership, and inclusion in a world increasingly influenced by AI. Through a variety of
curated workshops, networking opportunities, and showcases, these events facilitate
collaboration across sectors, enhance visibility for startups, and help shape strategic
directions for innovation within the industry. Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
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ASSOCHAM: The ASSOCHAM (Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of
India) frequently organizes events focused on innovation that encourage technological
progress and strategic discussions across various sectors. Among these, the Innovation
Nexus: Conference on Security, Data Protection & AI stands out, as it is co-hosted with
Telangana’s IT department and industry collaborators to investigate emerging trends
in generative AI, cybersecurity, and the ethical implementation of technology—uniting
government policymakers, scholars, and industry specialists. Another important platform
is the Symposium on Accelerating Adoption of Industry 4.0 Technologies, which takes
place in Karnataka and tackles the challenges and strategies for MSMEs to embrace
AI, IoT, and smart manufacturing solutions. These events illustrate ASSOCHAM’s
commitment to shaping the dialogue on innovation, encouraging the adoption of
cutting-edge technologies, and enhancing collaboration among industry, academia, and
the public sector.
In addition to all these major events, India observes several nationally significant days
that celebrate and promote innovation, science, and technology, marked by thematic
events, exhibitions, and outreach activities. For instance, National Science Day is
celebrated with science exhibitions, innovation challenges, workshops, and public
engagement programs aimed at promoting a scientific mindset. National Technology
Day recognizes India’s technological milestones, including the Pokhran-II nuclear tests;
it includes technology showcases, startup exhibitions, innovation awards, and policy
announcements that support research and development as well as emerging technologies.
National Mathematics Day pays tribute to the legacy of Srinivasa Ramanujan; it features
mathematics innovation fairs, problem-solving competitions, and awareness programs
designed to boost the culture of mathematical research. Together, these days act as
platforms to display homegrown innovations, encourage youth involvement, strengthen
connections between industry and academia, and align innovation efforts with national
goals. National Space Day is celebrated to commemorate the successful soft landing
of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon in 2023 and the event organizes activities including
space innovation exhibitions, lectures by ISRO scientists, student competitions (model
rocketry, satellite design, quizzes), and public outreach events showcasing achievements
in satellite technology, planetary exploration, and emerging domains like space startups
and private sector participation.
Several other activities that could make an impact in fostering innovation include BFSI
Innovation & Technology Summit, BioTech Kisan, Pharma & Biotech Innovation Summits,
Automotive Tech Innovation Challenges, University annual events and many more.
Events like Hackathons, Startup Grand Challenges, and Innovation Bootcamps further
create pathways for idea-to-market translation and scaling. Collectively, these activities
enhance grassroots participation, promote cross-sectoral innovation, and build a robust
pipeline of talent, technologies, and enterprises driving India’s transformation into a
global innovation hub. Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
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India in The Global
Innovation Landscape
CHAPTER 4 Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 88
Global benchmarking of innovation ecosystems has emerged as a critical practice for
policymakers, investors, and organizations seeking to understand relative performance
and identify best practices across national and regional innovation systems. These
comparative frameworks provide diagnostic insights into strengths and weaknesses
while highlighting strategic opportunities for ecosystem development.
In the last decade or so, India is establishing itself as an innovation driven economy as
evident from its performance reflected in various international benchmarking reports
or indices. There are several globally recognized indices that benchmark and assess the
strength, efficiency, and performance of innovation ecosystems across countries. These
indices evaluate different dimensions such as policy environment, entrepreneurship,
R&D, technology output, human capital, and infrastructure.
This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of India’s innovation landscape through
multiple global and national benchmarks. It begins with the Global Innovation Index (GII)
2025, where India has achieved the 38
th
position, reflecting its growing stature in the
global innovation ecosystem (Section 4.1). Further, the report examines the European
Innovation Scoreboard (Section 4.2). Complementary perspectives are drawn from the
OECD- Science, Technology and Innovation Scoreboard (Section 4.3), and the Bloomberg
Innovation Index (Section 4.4), offering insights into India’s relative performance
across research, industry, and technology domains. India’s start-up ecosystem growth
is examined thereafter (Section 4.5). This is followed by a look into India’s growing
contribution to research publications and its rising strength in intellectual property
generation including patents, trademarks, and geographical indications (Section 4.6), as
well as the role of intangible assets and the creative economy (Section 4.7). Additionally,
other key dimensions such as indicators from UNCTAD, the International Energy Agency
(IEA), the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and India’s global leadership in
generic medicines and vaccines (Section 4.8) are included to present a holistic picture
of how innovation is shaping India’s development and international positioning.
Box 4.1 India’s Global Innovation Status
• 38
th
among 139 countries (Global Innovation Index 2025).
1
• Among the top 10 Knowledge Producers (on the basis of Research Publications
2024).
2
• Globally 6
th
largest number of patent applications
3
.
• Fastest annual growth of 6.6% in Intangible Investment among major
economies.
4
• Four (04) Indian Science & Technology clusters featured among world’s top
100.
1 Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 89
• India boasts globally the 3
rd
largest startup ecosystem with more than 1.57 lakh
DPIIT recognised startups. These startups have generated about 17.28 lakh jobs
until December 2024
5
.
References:
1
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (2024). Global Innovation Index 2025: Innovation at a Crossroads.
Geneva: WIPO. DOI: 10.34667/tind.58864. https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2025/
assets/80937/global-innovation-index-2025-en.pdf
2
Singh P, Singh VK, Arora P & Bhattacharya S. India’s rank and global share in scientific research: How data sourced
from different databases can produce varying outcomes? J Sci Ind Res. 2021; 80(4): 336-46. http://op.niscpr.res.in/
index.php/JSIR/article/viewFile/38273/465479245
3
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2073890 .
4
https://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo-pub-rn2025-8-en-world-intangible-investment-highlights.pdf
5
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2098452
4.1 The Global Innovation Index (GII)
The Global Innovation Index (GII) is led by the World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO) and supported by the Portulans Institute, who contribute to its research, data,
and methodology. GII ranks the world’s leading economies based on their innovation
capabilities, assessed through two main sub-indices: i) Innovation Inputs, and ii)
Innovation Outputs.
Inputs encompass majorly five pillars: Institutions, Human Capital and Research,
Infrastructure, Market Sophistication and Business Sophistication, which reflect the
environment and resources that support innovation. Outputs include Knowledge and
Technology Outputs, and Creative Outputs, capturing results such as patents, technology
exports, and creative products. Switzerland, Sweden, the United States, and Singapore
regularly appear among leading nations, each exemplifying different approaches to
innovation excellence.
In the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025, India achieved the 38
th
position among 139
global economies, marking a continued upward trajectory in its innovation capabilities
from rank 81 in 2015. Further, India leads in the Central and Southern Asian region, and
stands out as the top-performing in lower-middle-income economies. With notable
strengths in science and engineering graduates, software exports, mobile app creation,
and minority investor protection, India secures top 10 global rankings in several
indicators. However, challenges persist in areas such as education and R&D expenditure,
environmental sustainability, and university-industry collaboration. India also features
in the global top 40 middle income economies along with China, Malaysia, Türkiye,
and Bulgaria. Additionally, India continues to be recognized as a consistent innovation
performer for the 15
th
consecutive year, reflecting sustained progress relative to its
income group (Figure 4.1b).
31 Pathways To Progress:
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Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 90
Figure 4.1a: Indicator-wise ranking and scoring of India in global innovation index.
Source: World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (2025). https://www.wipo.int/web-
publications/global-innovation-index-2025/assets/80937/global-innovation-index-2025-en.pdf Pathways To Progress:
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Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 91
Figure 4.1b: India as the top Innovation overperformer, relative to economic development.
Source: World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (2025).
https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2025/assets/80937/global-innovation-
index-2025-en.pdf Pathways To Progress:
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India is also steadily enhancing its global innovation footprint through several prominent
science and technology (S&T) clusters, with four S&T clusters in top 100 globally.
These four clusters namely, Bengaluru, Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai, are supported by
robust academic and research infrastructures and a dynamic innovation environment.
Additionally, cities such as Hyderabad, Chennai, and Pune are emerging rapidly as
innovation hubs, gaining recognition for their increasing contributions to research and
technology development. Collectively, these clusters reflect India’s growing role as a
key player in the global knowledge economy.
4.2 European Innovation Scoreboard
The European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS), published annually by the European
Commission, evaluates and compares the innovation performance of EU Member
States, neighbouring countries, and key global competitors using a comprehensive set
of indicators across four areas: Framework Conditions (foundations such as education,
research collaboration, digital skills, and internet access), Investments (public and private
R&D funding, venture capital, and adoption of digital technologies), Innovation Activities
(business efforts in product development, process improvements, collaboration, and
intellectual property filings), and Impacts (outcomes like revenues from new products,
job creation in innovative firms, high-tech exports, and resource efficiency).
Figure 4.2: Innovation performance of India as emerging Innovator.
Source: European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation. European Innovation
Scoreboard 2025. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union; 2025.
https://doi.org/10.2777/3239776 Pathways To Progress:
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Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 93
EIS 2025 identifies countries as “Innovation Leaders,” “Strong Innovators,” “Moderate
Innovators,” and “Emerging Innovators,” while also highlighting regional hubs with
outstanding performance. India is placed among the “Emerging Innovators”, reflecting
that its innovation performance, at 48.1% of the EU average in 2025, is still developing
(Figure 4.2). However, this marks a notable improvement of 55 percentage points since
2018, underscoring India’s steady upward trajectory in innovation. While countries like
China, South Korea, and the United States currently outperform the EU and remain ahead
of India, the sustained progress signals that India is rapidly strengthening its innovation
ecosystem and is well-positioned to narrow the gap with the world’s leading innovation
economies in the coming years.
32

4.3 OECD - Science, Technology and Innovation Scoreboard
The OECD’s Science, Technology and Innovation Scoreboard, which provides numerous
indicators on research, innovation, patents, education, and the economy, includes a
measure of “Product innovative firms, R&D-active (in-house and/or external), as a
percentage of total firms,” showing how active countries are in creating new ideas.
According to this indicator, 65% of Indian firms are innovative or R&D-active (Figure
4.3), putting India ahead of Japan and close to Korea. While some countries like Czech
Republic, Greece, and Canada have nearly 100% participation, India’s performance
shows good progress and a strong base to build on, with plenty of room to further
expand innovation and R&D among its firms.
33Figure 4.3: India’s performance in OECD’s Science, Technology and Innovation Scoreboard, Indicator:
Product innovative, & R&D-active firms.
(Source: https://stip.oecd.org/stats/SB-StatTrends.html?i=G_
XGDP&v=3&t=1998,2021&s=CHN,EU27_2021,JPN,KOR,OECD,USA,GBR) Pathways To Progress:
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Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 94
4.4 Bloomberg Innovation Index
The Bloomberg Innovation Index evaluates countries based on several criteria, including
research and development spending, manufacturing capability, and the concentration
of high-tech public companies. India’s inclusion in the Bloomberg Innovation Index and
improvement in the rankings underscores its commitment to fostering an innovation-
driven economy. This framework particularly highlights nations with strong manufacturing
and industrial innovation capabilities, with South Korea, Germany, and Japan frequently
ranking among top performers. In 2021, India secured the 50th position, climbing four
spots from 2019 (54
th
among 95 countries). Notably, it was the only South Asian country
to feature in the top 50 that year.
34

(N.B. - Bloomberg Innovation Index - has been discontinued. The BII 2021 was the last
assessment report).
4.5 Startup ecosystem
India has emerged as the world’s third-largest startup hub, with more than 1,57,000
startups registered under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
(DPIIT) through the Startup India initiative, and over 100 unicorns as of 31 December
2024. These startups have collectively generated more than 17.28 lakh jobs, with 75,935
having at least one-woman director, highlighting the significant role of women in India’s
entrepreneurial ecosystem (Figure 4.5).
35
Figure 4.4: India’s Innovation and startup landscape.
Source: NITI Workshop on Building Synergies in India Innovation Ecosystem, 2025
34
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-03/south-korea-leads-world-in-innovation-u-s-drops-out-of-
top-10
35
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2098452 Pathways To Progress:
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Figure 4.5: Facts of India’s startup ecosystem.
(Source: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2098452)
Startups in India have also been key drivers of employment generation across diverse
sectors. The IT Services sector leads with 2.10 lakh jobs, followed by Healthcare and
Lifesciences (1.51 lakh), while Professional and Commercial Services (96,474 jobs) and
Education (92,694 jobs) have also made notable contributions. This demonstrates the
central role of technology and healthcare in driving employment, supported by education
and professional services.
At the global level, India’s entrepreneurial strength is reflected in the Global Entrepreneurship
Monitor (GEM) 2023/2024 Global Report, which is the world’s leading study on
entrepreneurship. GEM ranks countries based on the National Entrepreneurship Context
Index (NECI), which assesses 13 key framework conditions. In the 2024 NECI rankings, India
is placed 5
th
globally with a score of 6.1, the highest among lower GDP per capita countries
(Group C). This ranking shows that while India is not among the wealthiest nations, it offers
one of the most supportive environments for entrepreneurship (Figure 4.6).
36
Complementing GEM, two other global benchmarking studies reaffirm India’s rising global
startup prominence. The Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) 2025 by Startup
Genome evaluates ecosystems on six dimensions: performance, funding, market reach,
talent & experience, AI-native transition, and knowledge, where it places Bengaluru and
Delhi among the Top 40 ecosystems worldwide, underscoring India’s rapid advances
in innovation, funding, and AI-led growth. Similarly, Startup Blink’s Global Startup
Ecosystem Index 2025, which maps over 1,400 cities and 110 countries, identifies India
as one of only three countries, alongside the US and China, with multiple cities ranked
in the global Top 20 startup hubs. At the regional level, India leads South Asia with a
decentralized yet vibrant startup network, anchored by hubs such as Bengaluru, Delhi,
and Mumbai.
37
36
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2024/2025 Global Report: Entrepreneurship Reality Check
37
The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2025_GSER 2025; Ver 2, Startup Genome LLC_startupgenome.com https://
www.startupblink.com/startupecosystemreport?mc_cid=9bf1ecf1bb&mc_eid=435ade751d Pathways To Progress:
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Figure 4.6: India ranks 5
th
in the world and 1
st
among the countries with Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
per capita less than US $ 25,000 in the NECI 2024 rankings with a NECI score of 6.1.
(Source: Adapted from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2024/2025 Global Report: Entrepreneurship
Reality Check
https://gemconsortium.org/reports/latest-global-report)
4.6 Publications, Patents, Trademarks, and Geographical Indications
India has become a major global knowledge producer, consistently ranking among the
world’s top 10. Its research output and share of global publications have been rising
steadily over the past two decades. However, studies and reports often place India
at very different ranks, between 3
rd
and 9
th
globally, depending on the data source.
Variations in India’s global research ranking arise primarily from differences in database
coverage and classification. While India’s exact rank may differ across reports, the
consistent trend is clear - India’s research output and global share are growing steadily,
establishing the country as a major knowledge producer worldwide.
38
38
Prashasti Singh, Vivek Kumar Singh, Parveen Arora and Sujit Bhattacharya, “India’s Rank and Global Share in Scientif-
ic Research: How Data Sourced from Different Databases Can Produce Varying Outcomes?”, Journal of Scientific and
Industrial Research, Vol. 80, No. 04, pp. 336-346. Pathways To Progress:
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Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 97
It has produced a total of about 3,341,068 research publications, of which 3,010,235 are
citable. These have attracted 44.9 million citations, including 15.8 million self-citations,
yielding an average of 13.44 citations per paper. With an h-index of 925, India’s research
footprint is expanding steadily, though there remains scope to further strengthen global
visibility and impact.
39

In Patents, Trademarks, and Industrial designs, India has secured a position among the
top 10 countries globally reflecting its rising prominence in the international intellectual
property (IP) landscape.
40
Figure 4.7: a) India ranks 6
th
in Resident patent applications for the top 10 origins, 2023. b) India ranks
fourth in global trademark filing, 2023.
(Source: https://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo-pub-941-2024-en-world-intellectual-property-
indicators-2024.pdf)
Overall IP filings in India grew by 44% over the past five years, increasing from 4,77,533
in 2020-21 to 6,89,991 in 2024-25. The fastest growth was observed in Geographical
Indications (380%), followed by Designs (266%), Patents (180%), Copyrights (83%),
Trademarks (28%), and Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Designs (20%).
41
In 2023, India became the 6
th
largest filer of patent applications worldwide with 64,480
filings, recording a 15.7% increase over 2022, one of the highest growth rates among
the top 20 origins globally (Figure 4.7a). *Origin data/Origins - Applications filed by
applicants at a national or regional office (resident applications) or at a foreign office
(applications abroad).
39
https://www.scimagojr.com/countryrank.php
40
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2072706
41
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2146928 Pathways To Progress:
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For the first time, resident filings (by domestic companies, universities, and researchers)
accounted for 55.2% of total applications, signalling growing indigenous innovation
capacity. Patents granted also increased sharply by 149.4%, while India’s Patent: GDP ratio
more than doubled, from 144 in 2013 to 381 in 2023, highlighting the strongerintegration
of innovation into the economy.
42
In PCT international filing, India ranks 9
th
globally, reflecting strong innovation growth.
With greater global reach and wider participation, India can further strengthen its position
in national phase entries (Current - 19
th
rank) and per capita filings (current - 50th rank).
43
India’s performance in trademarks has been equally impressive. With 496,328 trademark
applications in 2023, the country ranked fourth globally, recording a 6.1% increase over
2022 (Figure 4.7b).
44
Meanwhile, in Geographical Indications (GIs), India has registered
a total of 697 products spanning agriculture, handicrafts, manufactured goods, food
items, and natural products, reflecting the growing recognition of cultural and economic
heritage in IP protection.
45
4.7 Intangible Assets and Creative Economy
Alongside the rise in IP activity, India has also shown remarkable progress in intangible
asset investment, a critical driver of modern, knowledge-based economies. Intangible
assets include IP rights, R&D, software, data, branding, organizational capabilities, and
skilled human capital, all of which fuel innovation, productivity, and competitiveness.
46

India recorded the fastest growth in intangible investment among major economies,
with an annual growth rate of 6.6%, between 2014 and 2024, outpacing advanced
innovation driven nations such as the United States, France, and Sweden (Figure 4.8). As
per the latest WIPO-LBS World Intangible Investment Highlights 2025, India’s intangible
investment by 2022 had reached nearly USD 70 billion, about 10% of GDP, marking
significant progress toward a knowledge-driven economy.
47
42
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2073890
43
WIPO Statistics Database, March 2025
44
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2073890
45
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2146928
46
WIPO and Luiss Business School (2025). World Intangible Investment Highlights 2025. Geneva and Rome: World
Intellectual Property Organization and Luiss Business School. www.wipo.int/en/web/intangible-assets/measuring-in-
vestments
47
WIPO-LBS World Intangible Investment Highlights 2025- https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/world-intangi-
ble-investment-highlights-2025/en/world-intangible-investment-highlights-2025.html Pathways To Progress:
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Figure 4.8: Annual growth rate of different economies in intangible investment.
Source: WIPO-LBS World Intangible Investment Highlights 2025
The composition of India’s intangible investment highlights its digital strengths, with
software and databases accounting for 50% of the total. Organizational capital contributes
23%, while R&D makes up around 5% (Figure 4.9). Between 2014 and 2024, India along
with Brazil, achieved intangible investment levels comparable to several advanced EU
economies, reflecting a strong catch-up process from a lower base. This rapid expansion
underscores India’s growing capacity to harness digital infrastructure, innovation, and
organizational capabilities as key drivers of long-term economic resilience. Pathways To Progress:
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Figure 4.9: Analysis of asset types reveals varying investment across economies.
Source: World Intangible Investment Highlights 2025.
Closely linked to intangible assets is the creative economy, which includes industries
such as painting, sculpture, performing arts, media, software, architecture, advertising,
social media, fashion, design, publishing, and other creative products and services
India’s creative economy is valued at USD 30 billion and employs nearly 8% of the
workforce. Creative services exports touched USD 11 billion in 2024, growing at around
20% annually, led by IT and design, with contributions from arts, crafts, publishing, and
grassroots innovations. With rising youth interest and supportive initiatives such as the
All-India Initiative on Creative Economy (AIICE) launched in 2024, the sector is emerging
as both a cultural asset and a driver of innovation and economic growth.
48,49

4.8 India’s Global Positioning: Some Other Salient Achievements
India’s rising position as a global hub for innovation and technology is reflected in
international assessments highlighting its progress in both digital and clean energy
domains. According to UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) data
2000 - 2023, India ranks among the global leaders in the Internet of Things (IoT) and
nanotechnology, with growing strengths in artificial intelligence (AI), green hydrogen,
and concentrated solar power (Figure 4.10).
48
Creative Economy Outlook 2024: https://unctad.org/publication/creative-economy-outlook-2024
49 PIB AIICE Press Release: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2048272 Pathways To Progress:
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Figure 4.10: Revealed technology specialization of selected countries based on patent filings, 2000–
2023. Figure of 1 = country’s share in a technology equals its share in all frontier technologies; a figure
above 1 indicates a specialization and a figure below 1 indicates “no specialization”.
Source: Technology and Innovation Report 2025.
India is also performing above expectations in technology readiness relative to its
income level, supported by strong digital infrastructure, forward-looking policies, and
a skilled workforce (Figure 4.11), indicating India’s efforts to improve the country’s
innovation ecosystem, helping it lead in some frontier technologies.
50
Figure 4.11: India in Technology Readiness vs GDP per capita. Correlation between Index
Score and GDP per capita.
Source: UNCTAD, Technology and Innovation Report 2025.
50
Technology and Innovation Report 2025 – Inclusive Artificial Intelligence for Development: https://unctad.org/sys-
tem/files/official-document/tir2025_en.pdf Pathways To Progress:
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This trajectory is reinforced by India’s advances in the clean energy transition, as
recognized by the International Energy Agency (IEA). The IEA World Energy Investment
2025 report notes that renewable energy investment in India reached USD 33 billion in
2024, a 17% year-on-year increase, and is projected to grow by a further 12% in 2025.
India is also on course to meet its goal of 50% non-fossil power capacity well before
2030, with increasing investments in Solar Photovoltaic (Figure 4.12).
51
Progress is
evident in solar manufacturing, battery storage, electric vehicles, small modular reactors,
and bioenergy, along with more than 12 billion sq. ft. of certified green building space
achieved in 2024. With supportive policies, cost-effective innovation, and a strong talent
base, India is steadily positioning itself as a global leader in clean energy innovation,
contributing both to its domestic growth and to global sustainability efforts.
Figure 4.12: Strong investments are propelling India’s shift to non-fossil power, achieving its 2030
goal early. MER- market exchange rates; 2025e - Estimated values for 2025.
Source: World Energy Investment 2025, 10
th
Edition, IEA.
Science and Technology Innovation in India is increasingly driving the nation’s efforts
to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) particularly,
Affordable and Clean energy (SDG 7), Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9),
Good Health and Well-being (SDG 3) through healthcare Research, Zero Hunger (SDG
2) through Agriculture advancements, and Responsible consumption and production
(SDG 12). According to Clarivate’s 2025 G20 Scorecard, India prominently focuses on
Affordable & Clean Energy (SDG 7), and Responsible Consumption & Production (SDG
12), amongst the various SDGs. Figure 4.13 highlights India’s steady progress in advancing
the United Nations SDGs. With an overall country score of 67.0, India has improved by 7.6
points since 2015, underscoring consistent progress in sustainable development. India’s
SDG trajectory demonstrates that science, technology, and innovation are central to its
development pathway, with notable global leadership in clean energy and sustainability
(SDG 7 & 12), as also reaffirmed by Clarivate’s 2025 G20 Scorecard.
52
Industry and
Infrastructure (SDG 9) remain priority areas, where India needs to accelerate progress.
51
World Energy Investment 2025, 10
th
Edition, IEA
52
https://clarivate.com/academia-government/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/dlm_uploads/2025/07/G20-Re-
search-and-Innovation-Scorecard-2025-Executive-Summary.pdf Pathways To Progress:
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Figure 4.13: India’s SDG Performance at a Glance.
(Source: Sachs, J.D., Lafortune, G., Fuller, G., Iablonovski, G. (2025). Financing Sustainable Development to 2030 and
Mid-Century. Sustainable Development Report 2025. Paris: SDSN, Dublin: Dublin University Press. DOI: https://doi.
org/10.25546/111909)
Box 4.2 International Solar Alliance (ISA)
The International Solar Alliance (ISA), founded in 2018, is a group of more than 120
UN member nations, mainly situated between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
Based at the National Institute of Solar Energy in Gurugram, India, ISA’s goal is to
promote the global use of solar energy.
ISA leads efforts in policy and regulatory advocacy, releasing yearly reports on
technology, investment, and market trends within the solar industry. Through its
main initiative, the Solar Technology and Application Resource Centres (STAR-C), it
provides capacity-building programs, solar training, and standard-setting to enhance
solar ecosystems, especially in developing countries.
In terms of programming, ISA is dedicated to supporting sustainable solar projects in
areas vulnerable to climate change, such as Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and
Small Island Developing States (SIDS). It does this by aggregating demand, scaling
up innovative solutions, and helping to secure access to risk-mitigated financing.
Notable initiatives include Scaling Solar for Agriculture, Rooftops, Mini Grids, Solar
Parks, E-Mobility & Storage, Solar PV Waste Management, Heating & Cooling Systems,
and Green Hydrogen. Pathways To Progress:
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Source: International Solar Alliance Website, https://isa.int/about_uss
India has emerged as the world’s largest provider of generic medicines,
contributing 14% of total generics imported by the United States. Similarly, India’s
role in vaccine production is significant, where it supplies nearly 70% of the World
Health Organization’s total requirements. Together, these achievements firmly
establish India as a global hub for affordable, quality healthcare, ensuring wider
access to essential medicines and vaccines across the world.
53
Box 4.3 India: A Global Player in Generic Medicine, Vaccine Manufacturing,
and Supplying Affordable Medicines to the world
India stands as the world’s third largest producer of pharmaceuticals by volume
1

and 11
th
by value
2
, with a diversified product base spanning generic medicine, active
pharmaceutical ingredients, bulk drugs, drug intermediates, over the counter products,
vaccines, biosimilars, and biologics. Its exports reach more than 200 countries including
highly regulated markets such as the United States, United Kingdom, European Union,
and Canada. India accounts for 60% of the global vaccine production, which makes it
the largest vaccine producer in the world (https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.
aspx?PRID=19319180. India was among the few countries in the world that successfully
developed its own indigenous COVID-19 vaccine, ‘COVAXIN’. India Vaccine Maitri
(Vaccine Friendship) launched during Covid-19 pandemic created a global impact
and support system to combat the pandemic. Through this initiative, India supplied
millions of doses of vaccines, including COVAXIN and the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine
manufactured locally as Covishield to more than 100 countries during Covid pandemic
(https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1931918)
53
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2136620 Pathways To Progress:
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Indian firms have emerged as global frontrunners in generic drug production. It is the
largest provider of generic medicines globally, occupying a 20% share in global supply by
volume
(https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1931918) and account
for 14% of the total generics imported by the United States. One of the indicators of
technological capability is the capacity of the country to file Abbreviated New Drug
Application (ANDA) in the United States. Immediately after patent expiry, generic drug
manufacturers can enter the US market through this mechanism. If their application
of ANDA is approved i.e. granted, the firm enjoys 180-day exclusivity (awarded to the
first successful filer), a temporary monopoly before other generic competitors can
enter. India dominates ANDA approvals; in 2022 for example there were 355 ANDA
approvals accounting for 48% of the total approvals (https://www.expresspharma.
in/top-of-anda-approvals-list-low-on-ip-index/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) The
Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Pharmaceuticals and other government
initiatives are further driving innovation, encouraging the development of complex
generics, biologics, and high-technology products. With these achievements, India is
establishing itself as a trusted hub for affordable, high-quality healthcare solutions. Its
continued progress ensures greater global access to essential medicines and vaccines,
cementing India’s respect as a partner in advancing public health worldwide.
References:
1
Annual report 2024-25, Department of Pharmaceuticals, https://pharma-dept.gov.in/annual-report
2
Press Release: Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2110209 Pathways To Progress:
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Characterizing The Indian
Innovation Ecosystem
CHAPTER 5 Pathways To Progress:
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Pathways To Progress:
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Building on the framework of the STI ecosystem outlined in Chapter 2, the following
chapters examine how India has framed policies and implementation mechanisms to
create an enabling environment that can create directionality and support systems
for innovation-driven growth. The key actors and institutions in the system, the role of
intermediary bodies, and the successful outcomes have been highlighted along with
implementations, roles and interactions of key actors, the institutional architecture, and
the policy landscape. This chapter brings an analytical assessment of the key directions
in which India’s innovation is shaping, how it is addressing structural limitations, and
the gaps that call for further attention. In other words, to assess how the country has
progressed in its innovation odyssey. This will provide us with directionality to strengthen
many of the successful initiatives and also design new interventions that can help India
to position itself in frontier technologies, build deep technology startups and synergise
the industry towards knowledge intensive product development. Make India progress
towards the vision and mandates of the Viksit Bharat 2047.
5.1 Key Dimensions for Characterisation
Based upon the overview of the STI ecosystem, the policies and the various interventions,
8 key dimensions were framed to examine the characterisation of the country’s enabling
innovation ecosystem. This framework allows us to identify the specific areas where
India’s ecosystem offers strong support for innovation, where systemic gaps still persist,
and how policy and institutional design can be optimised to create a more resilient,
inclusive, and globally competitive innovation system. This analytical lens thus helps us
to assess how the country has progressed in its innovation odyssey. The key dimensions
in which we examine are:
• Policy Direction – strategic prioritisation through national missions and targeted
programmes,
• Intermediary Institutions – bridging mechanisms that connect research, startups,
and industry for lab-to-market translation,
• Knowledge & Human Capacity – talent development, IPR literacy, and
entrepreneurship culture,
• Financial & Infrastructural Support – mechanisms to bridge the “valley of death”
through capital access and facilities,
• Startup & Entrepreneurial Ecosystem – fostering inclusive entrepreneurship
through accelerators and incubation networks,
• Societal & Grassroots Innovation – leveraging frugal and community-based
innovations for socio-economic development,
• Global Positioning & International Cooperation – enhancing India’s standing in
global innovation indices and partnerships,
• S&T Cluster and Regional Strategies – reducing regional disparities and building
thematic excellence. Pathways To Progress:
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Pathways To Progress:
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The dimensions are inter-related and progress across each dimension influences the
positive outcomes in the other dimensions. By structuring the analysis around these
dimensions, the chapter links conceptual understanding of the enabling ecosystem with
concrete policy programmes, institutional actors, and initiatives. Table 5.1 provides us
with a broad overview of positioning along these dimensions. Pathways To Progress:
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Pathways To Progress:
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The subsequent sections of this chapter examine India’s progress in three inter-related
areas: a) Startups, b) University-Industry-Government linkages (Triple Helix partnership),
and c) Inclusive innovation (Quadrupole partnership). Startups drive inclusive economic
growth and societal innovation and can provide an early mover advantage in deep
technologies. The U-I-G partnerships further augment this advantage by developing
intrinsic innovation capacity. Innovation intermediaries play a key role in shaping
the outcomes of these activities and in bridging any systematic gaps to facilitate
entrepreneurs, researchers and other stakeholders. The progress in these three areas,
thus, will be instrumental in strategising India’s approach towards promoting innovation
and technology commercialisation.
The examination is undertaken based on the above 8 dimensions to provide an analytical
and evidence-based assessment of the progress and future pathways that can be
adopted to further strengthen our STI ecosystem. The enabling innovation ecosystem
highlights many other aspects that create pathways towards an inclusive innovation-
driven pathway for inclusive growth and a knowledge and innovation hub. Examination
within the three areas through the 8 dimensions of the successful edifice of an enabling
ecosystem is addressed to a large extent.
5.2. India’s Startup Ecosystem
India has given a strong push for creating an enabling environment for startups. This has
resulted in various positive outcomes. It has the third largest number of startups in the
world after the USA and China. There are 1.57 lakh recognised startups and more than 100
Unicorns (i.e., startups with a valuation of US $1 billion and above).
54
It is estimated that they
have helped to create 17.28 lakhs jobs in the past 7-8 years.
55
DPIIT recognised startups have
a dominant presence in three key areas namely IT services accounting for 13% of startups,
healthcare & life sciences accounting for 9% of startups, and education which accounts
for 7% of the startups. Together they account for 29% of the DPIIT recognised startups.
56

The orientation of startups in India has largely been in the service sector primarily in areas
such as e-commerce, novel business models for aggregation, supply chain management,
etc. There are some concerns as many startups do not have profitable growth and do not
perform as per their valuation. This has resulted in funding slowdown and unallocated
capital as investors are now concentrating more on startups that exhibit profitable growth.
A skewed statewise distribution in startups can be seen as about 40% of the startups are
from three states namely Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Delhi.
57

Deep tech startups constitute only 10,298 of the total DPIIT recognised startups.
58

Majority of these startups are leveraging 4IR technologies to make themselves
competitive, strengthening supply chains and improving their valuation. The deep
technology enabling is thus an important shift observed in the Indian startup ecosystem.
Inspite of these positive developments, there are only a few deep technology startups
that are creating new technologies, i.e., are “inventive,” and even fewer are developing
technologies that can be characterized as technologies that are new to the world. The
54
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2098452
55
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=209845
56
https://kpmg.com/in/en/insights/2024/12/exploring-indias-dynamic-start-up-ecosystem.html
57
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2037579
58
https://www.fortuneindia.com/long-reads/indias-deep-tech-disruptors/116967 Pathways To Progress:
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Pathways To Progress:
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central government, with different major stakeholders and some state governments,
industry associations, entrepreneurial universities, research institutions, and financial
institutions have been focusing on the country as a global hub for deep technology
startups. One recent initiative by the office of the Principal Scientific Advisor was the
articulation of a Draft National Deep Tech Startup Policy (NDTSP). The draft underscores
that deep technology startups can become the key driver of India’s innovation-led
growth, helping address challenges in different sectors. It can transform India from a
technology adopter to a global creator of frontier technologies.
Two major programmes that have created a key role in synergising the Indian startup
ecosystem are the ‘Startup India’ and the ‘Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)’. They have an
overarching role in creating a culture of entrepreneurship, and facilitating the translation
of ideas into practice. Both programmes, launched in 2016, are complementing each
other. A key component of AIM is its focus on learning by doing and providing support
to schools for creativity and translation of ideas and developing incubation capacity.
Startup India is creating various enabling structures for startup growth and market entry.
It has also started an annual exercise, the States’ Startup Ranking with the objective to
augment the Startup ecosystem in the States and Union Territories across the country.
Focus is on initiatives and policies undertaken in respective jurisdictions. It has also
established a feedback collection mechanism from beneficiary startups and incubators
present across states and union territories to share their experience in handholding and
support that they have received from respective governments. Various other programmes
have been initiated by different Ministries that are also trying to embed innovation and
entrepreneurship within their various programmes. Sectoral mapping provides more
insights into the progress and constraints for startups therein. Some useful insights can
be obtained by closely examining each of the eight dimensions (Table 5.2).
Policy Direction and Intermediary Institutions
Both the Startup India and the AIM are providing policy directionality, positioning
entrepreneurship and innovation as national imperatives. Under the AIM, intermediary
organisations such as Atal Incubation Centres (AICs), Atal Community Innovation Centres
(ACICs), and Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) have been developed. These organisations are
envisaged as the platforms to bring together the innovations and promote efforts at the
different levels namely schools, universities, research institutions, and startups. Similarly,
under the Startup India mission, components focused on providing support to startups
are included. Besides establishing Incubation centres, the MAARG (Mentorship, Advisory,
Assistance, Resilience, and Growth) portal and the Startup India portals are envisaged as
platforms for supporting research to market translation of new innovations. Pathways To Progress:
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Besides these two missions, the growth of startups in India is also a result of sectoral
programs (DST-NIDHI, Smart India Hackathon, National Biotechnology Mission. Research,
Development, and Innovation (RDI) Scheme, National Innovation and Startup Policy 2019
etc.), are some initiatives to improve the interest of market investors, entrepreneurs and
individual innovators in pursuing commercialisation of grassroot innovations. The key
S&T ministries DST, DSIR, DBT, DPIIT, MoE etc. have developed various programs and
intermediary institutions. However, in spite of the overarching role of the two missions,
which are sector agnostic, and aim to support all startups; the mechanisms for fostering
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remain weak even though numerous such initiatives exist. Most of them are of recent
origin and are yet to take full effect.
Knowledge & Human Capacity
AIM is supporting early-stage creativity by embedding innovation pedagogy in schools.
However, the programme does not have a selective mechanism to promote promising
prototypes developed at the school level further. Startup India is promoting IPR literacy
and facilitates patent filing support (through DPIIT interventions and training such as
StartupShala and MoE’s KAPILA scheme). The IDEA Bank is a step towards the sharing
of a curated collection of problem statements and sector challenges for innovators and
startups. Support for intellectual property typically concludes with the submission of
patents, with insufficient emphasis on converting them into marketable products or
aligning them with industry standards.
The success of startups depends not only on technological innovation but also on their
capacity to secure funding, build markets, and forge strategic linkages. Therefore, a key
area that can still be improved is the knowledge and training of other important aspects
essential to startups, namely financial, business development, and networking, which is
an essential element in scaling up the startups.
Financial & Infrastructural Support
The Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) and the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS)
are the two most important support mechanisms for financial support to startups. The
two funds aim to bridge the funding gaps that are especially critical at the “valley of
death” stage. Another important scheme is the Research Development and Innovation
Fund (RDIF) Scheme, which aims to address significant funding deficiencies and support
projects with high Technology Readiness Levels (TRL). Another initiative, MeitY’s
SAMRIDH (Startup Accelerator for MeitY’s Product Innovation, Development and
Growth), is focused on promoting software startups and supporting them in developing
linkages with customers, investors, and international market opportunities.
Inspite of these initiatives, there are still funding gaps for supporting proof-of-concept,
prototype development, and making the prototype attractive for getting support from
industry.
DST Technology Development Board, NRDC, BIRAC etc. are positioning themselves
at different stages of the financial and infrastructure support. Such infrastructural and
financial support systems also have been developed under various startup incubation
centres at various IITs, IISc, and other institutions through support from different
departments. A sector such as Biotechnology, which has developed a strong enabling
institutional mechanism through BIRAC is able to provide various types of financial and
infrastructure support.
However, startups in many other sectors are struggling to get the funds and also face
challenges in finding the appropriate funding body for support. Another major concern
is lack of funding support to non-technology dimensions that are critical for startups to
enter the commercialisation stage. Pathways To Progress:
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Startup & Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
Some key knowledge hubs are visible that are creating an enabling ecosystem for
startups; startup clusters such as in Bangalore, Pune, Delhi NCR, Chennai and Hyderabad.
They are providing a conducive environment for creation of new and growth of existing
startups. The organisational and infrastructural support extended through institutions
TDB, Bio-NEST, Technology Parks, Technology Business Incubators, Innovation Hubs/
Clusters, CoEs etc. has contributed towards the establishment of various startup hubs.
There is, however, a large part of the S&T system that can contribute to this ecosystem
and provide valuable knowledge creation, sharing, and facilitative support for the
startups. These are the several research and innovation institutional clusters, such as the
CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research), ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural
Research), ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) etc. having nationwide presence
through their regional centers/institutions. They have a large pool of skilled technical
and scientific experts, and well-established institutional mechanisms. They can become
crucial actors for promoting innovation and commercialisation. Largely their innovation
is centered within their organisation i.e. laboratories under them. The open innovation
model is largely missing in these institutions, bringing knowledge, ideas, or technologies
from external sources (inbound), and sharing their own knowledge and solutions with
others (outbound).
Societal & Grassroots Innovations
Social financial schemes such as PMMY (Mudra) and Stand-Up India provide collateral-
free financing to different stakeholders, including micro, small, and women/SC/ST
entrepreneurs through relevant banking/non-banking organisations. MSME’s CGTMSE
(Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises) has expanded access
to funding and mentorship for scaling startups. The Atal Innovation Mission, with
its nationwide incubation and tinkering network, along with ASPIRE and Chunauti,
promotes rural, agro-industrial, and tech-based entrepreneurship. Additionally, the
Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) provides risk-mitigation for lenders,
improving access to working capital, venture debt, and growth loans.
Linkages with the National Innovation Foundation and civil society can help to broaden
their reach and bring more inclusivity.
Global Positioning and International Cooperation
Largely the startups have positioned themselves in the Indian market. Positioning
themselves in the global value chain and linking with global knowledge-intensive firms
are rare exceptions. Programmes that have been created need to be revisited to make
them more effective. Provisions need to be created that allows entrepreneurs from
foreign countries to open startups in India.
S&T Cluster and Regional Strategies
Several approaches to promote development of specialised regions as hubs of innovation and
technology development are being implemented. Some of the well-known include Tech Parks,
Incubators, Innovation Hubs/Clusters, CoEs, State S&T councils, and Startup missions (Kerala’s
Startup Mission, Telangana’s T-Hub and Haryana’s Startup Haryana run), Special Economic Pathways To Progress:
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Zones etc. The exercise of ranking states’ startup ecosystems is also being undertaken.
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A
recent initiative “BHASKAR” has set up an online platform to promote interaction between
entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, policymakers, and other startup ecosystem players.
5.2.1 India’s Deep Technology Startup
As highlighted, in spite of this positive development, the technology driven startups in
frontier technology areas/deep technologies are only a few. It calls for a strategic focus
to create a deep technology startup ecosystem.
Box 5.1: Deep Technologies and Implications for India
Selected technologies that are built on disruptive innovations resulting in non-
conventional scientific and industrial breakthroughs are categorized as deep
technologies. These have a profound impact on the status quo in their related
sectors and can push the technological capabilities through previously determined
limits. However, development of such innovative technologies involves high risk
R&D efforts with substantial capital investment and long gestation periods. Some
sectors which are currently of global relevance in Deep Tech are Artificial Intelligence,
Biotechnology, Photonics, Robotics etc.
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In India, the role of deep tech. has been underlined at several instances now.
The recent achievements of ISRO demonstrated the capability of the Indian R&D
sector in taking significant leaps through the development of solutions to complex
scientific challenges. The National Deep Tech start up policy has been proposed to
set up the policy priorities in the areas and drive related activities. ANRF funding
support has been laid out in the 2025 Union Budget, and sector-specific schemes
and thematic missions such as ADITI (defense), AIRAWAT, AI Mission, Blockchain
strategy, Quantum mission, Cyber-Physical systems, Green Hydrogen mission, Deep
Ocean mission etc.are being rolled out to develop a comprehensive ecosystem.
Mission mode programs have been framed in some of the key deep technology domains
for creating capacity and capability for engaging successfully with technology frontiers.
IndiaAI Mission, National Quantum Mission (NQM), India Semiconductor missions
(ISM) provide new directionality and enablers in deep technology. It is important to
have an overarching framework that provides policy directionality for building a deep
technology ecosystem. Initiative has been taken in this direction. A preliminary draft of
the National Deep Tech Startup Policy (NDTSP), has been circulated by the Office of
the Principal Scientific Advisor for stakeholder engagement. The challenge is to bring
different stakeholders together that can create the pathways for creating an enabling
framework for the deep technology ecosystem. The policy directionality calls for creating
specialised intermediary organisations that can support the deep technology startups
that face higher risk environments than normal startups and a more challenging pathway
for crossing the valley of death.
Huge entry barriers are there for deep technology startups. Deep tech fields demand
highly specialized, and interdisciplinary expertise. India produces a large pool of STEM
graduates, but very few have advanced research or commercialization-ready skills in
frontier technologies. Regular upskilling and reskilling of employees is required due to
the complexity of engaging with the deep technologies. Reskilling is more challenging
especially as it involves learning something entirely new to the existing knowledge.
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Deep technologies are highly protected by patents and standards. Thus, it calls for
adopting new strategies and developing novel pathways.
Deep tech startups are capital-intensive with long gestational periods, requiring
significant financial and infrastructural support and domain expertise. Venture funding
is not easy and calls for strong state co-investment or incentives. This could limit the
scalability of deep technology startups and slow down lab-to-market technology transfer
mechanisms. Deep tech products often need early adopters in defence, healthcare, or
energy sectors. Procurement challenges or lack of government-as-first-buyer programs
reduce innovation pull. It is also crucial to ensure innovation inclusivity in emerging
sectors like deep tech, as this is often concentrated in metro and select states, northeast
and Tier-2/3 clusters lack deep tech R&D infrastructure.
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5.3 University Industry Government (UIG) Collaboration
A stylised representation of India’s UIG ecosystem using the analytical lens of the 8
dimensions are highlighted in table 5.3.
Policy Direction
The Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy (STIP) 2013 made a strong assertion
of the need for university collaboration in promoting innovation. It called for the
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drawn from the Triple Helix model. Most of the missions and initiatives consist of a
significant component stressing on promoting UIG collaborations. Besides this, industry
and government departments (DST, DBT, MOE and DPIIT) have a significant component
of their schemes facilitating UIG linkages. However, the university-industry collaborations
are highly skewed with only a few reputed institutions having developed strong industry
partnerships.
A new pathway that can create a stronger institutional mechanism for university-industry
collaborations is articulated by the ANRF. It plans to bring industry stakeholders into the
research ecosystem with schemes such as Advanced Research Grant and PAIR etc.
Intermediary Institutions
Industry bodies NASSCOM, FICCI, CII have played an important role in promoting
university-industry collaborations. Ministerial programmes focused on facilitating
technology transfer, startup incubation, leveraging academic expertise or providing
industrial exposure to academic experts such as MoE-AICTE Investor Network, Ministry
of Education’s Innovation Cell (MIC), TBIs at different IITs, research institutions etc. also
provide a significant portion of support for facilitating UIG collaborations. Effectiveness
of intermediary institutions role is seen mainly in reputed institutions that have created
strong interfaces with industry.
Knowledge & Human Capacity
A major aspect of UIG collaboration is to facilitate the exchange of knowledge between
these three spheres. Often such exchanges are hindered by challenges of intellectual
property rights, data privacy, trade secrets, national interests etc. Thus, strong mechanisms
to build trust among the stakeholders are necessary in sensitive areas. Other sectors
have existing exchanges for developing human capacity such as the frontier technology
labs (AI, AR/VR, IoT) in partnership with Meta.
Financial & Infrastructural Support through development of S&T Cluster and Regional
Strategies
Provisions to support university-industry collaboration exist in most government
programs to support startups. Programmes such as DST - NIDHI Program, MeitY Start-
up Hub (MSH) are driving the creation of infrastructure through directed infrastructure
development. This is creating an impact but mostly in universities that have established
enabling institutions for creating various types of partnerships with industry and have
a vibrant ecosystem that supports startup and entrepreneurship. Thus, there is a need
to have within these programs, support for creation of the enabling institutions across
different universities.
Startup & Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
Many universities have played a key role in creating an environment for translation
of research from laboratory to technology product creation through startups. Many
startups have deep roots in university. However, this is skewed in terms of inclusion
and diversity. In other words, startup activity has largely been concentrated in a few
universities, primarily those located in tier-1 cities. Pathways To Progress:
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Societal & Grassroots Innovation
Social entrepreneurship is getting institutionalized in many universities. University-
industry partnerships are also getting created. Strong support is needed at different
levels, in the central programs and at the state level, to support these initiatives.
Global Positioning and International Cooperation
Bilateral Research Exchange Programmes are being coordinated by several agencies
including, DST, DBT, TDB, DSIR and foreign agencies such as DAAD, BMGF, British
Council etc. The major programmes include DST-DAAD, DBT-CEFIPRA, DST’s 1+1 and
2+2 schemes, BIRAC-Wellcome Trust Partnership, DBT-BMGF (Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation), DBT-Crest Award, Biotechnology Entrepreneurship Student Teams (BEST)
etc. Involvement of different line ministries particularly Ministry of External Affairs,
Science councilors etc. can be very important to create new pathways for international
collaboration.
S&T Cluster and Regional Strategies
Major institutions such as IITs, Tata institutes, BARC, AIIMS, IIITs and some other technical
universities have sector-specific collaborations. Other programs that have some potential
opportunities to contribute towards the development of this sector are Atal New India
Challenge, MoE-AICTE Investor Network, and North East Science & Technology (NEST)
Cluster. Technology Business Incubators, Innovation and Technology parks such as IIT
Madras, IIT Bombay, IISc, Hyderabad T-Hub etc. are some facilities that have developed
as regional S&T clusters in the recent past.
There is, however, a need to promote a more systematic and decentralised effort so as
to further diffuse such S&T research and commercialisation facilities. The administrative
processes involved in availing these facilities are cumbersome and tedious. As a result,
innovators invest most of their energy in fulfilling the procedural pre-requisites instead
of actually availing the facilities, which further prolongs the process and increases the
likelihood of failure.
5.4 Inclusive Innovation
Evaluating innovation’s inclusiveness helps characterize the direction, depth, and fairness
of the innovation journey. It further ensures that the innovation benefits not just a select
few but serves the larger economy and society to maintain a Quadruple Helix Structure
of innovation. A number of initiatives have been undertaken to address this requirement
and provide an enabling environment for promoting innovations which are socially
relevant and aimed at the betterment of the masses. encourages diverse participation
(from stakeholders such as, startups, grassroots innovators, women, rural entrepreneurs).
These initiatives have been driven by the motive in terms of reducing inequalities in
access (to resources, infrastructure, and markets), and align technological advances with
broader societal goals, rather than only commercial gains of the stakeholders. Pathways To Progress:
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Policy Direction
India has articulated an inclusive innovation-based growth model in its development
planning. This has driven different programmes such as the Atal Innovation Mission,
Make In India, National Solar Mission, Semiconductor mission etc. to focus on developing
an ecosystem which allows for small firms as well as large companies to participate
and innovate. Besides the national missions, the sectoral programmes to support small
innovators and in nurturing local innovations are present to some extent. However,
shaping the innovation ecosystem that adopts an inclusive approach needs systematic
structural shifts that calls for institutional changes at different levels.
Intermediary Institutions
Various intermediary organisations have been established for promoting inclusive
innovation. Some key intermediary organisations are the Atal Community Innovation Pathways To Progress:
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Centres (ACICs), National Innovation Foundation (NIF), Women Technology Parks
(WTPs). At state and district levels, intermediary institutions need to be created to make
a significant structural shift towards inclusive innovation pathways.
Knowledge & Human Capacity
In order to build the capacity for innovative activities, development of a basic
understanding of science and technology is a crucial precondition. The initiatives such as
the BioTech Kisan, Capacity Building of Community-based organizations (CBOs), NGOs,
Knowledge Institutions (KI) & Social Start-ups etc. are directed towards promoting
knowledge and human capacity building. Developing diverse skills and capacities across
levels, and awareness building is critical for inclusive innovation.
Financial & Infrastructural Support
The Digital India mission, PMMY (Mudra) and Stand-Up India, Biotech-KISAN and Atal
Community Innovation Centres (ACICs) have been established to ensure that innovators
in aspirational districts and remote areas receive the necessary funding, mentorship,
and policy support to scale their ideas. Additionally, multiple programs include schemes
for women entrepreneurs, SC/ST innovators, and rural artisans, ensuring that innovation
benefits reach all segments of society. The India Inclusive Innovation Fund (IIIF), Biogas
Power Generation (Off-Grid) and Thermal Energy Application Programme (BPGTP),
Social Innovation Programme for Products: Affordable & Relevant to Societal Health
(SPARSH), STARS (Scheme for Transformational and Advanced Research in Sciences)
are some other supporting programs. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds have
also supported rural entrepreneurship. However, the large developmental challenges call
for development of a more inclusive innovation model with strong partnership between
Central Ministries and States.
Inclusivity in State-level innovation policies can be ensured by empowering grassroots
innovators, MSMEs, and Tier-2/Tier-3 regions through accessible funding, targeted
capacity building, and participatory policy-making. Strengthening regional infrastructure,
fostering center–state collaboration, and streamlining IP and market access can ensure
equitable opportunities. This approach will transform fragmented innovation efforts into
a cohesive, impactful ecosystem.
Startup & Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
The Ministry of MSME, MDoNER, and the Ministry of Rural Development have been
promoting rural entrepreneurs, small-scale industries, and artisans. Programs such as
MSME’s ASPIRE and MDoNER’s regional startup hubs support rural industrialization
by integrating technology into agriculture, handicrafts, and small-scale manufacturing.
Other programmes such as Agrinnovate India Limited (AgIn), Coordination with States
and Aspirational Districts further augment these initiatives in different sectors and build
a capacity at district levels. This has to be further strengthened.
Societal & Grassroots Innovation
Some important initiatives have been taken by the MSME and STINER to support
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Programme for Societal Development (DBT), the Community Resilience Resource
Centre (CRRC), and the Social Innovation Immersion Program (SIIP), etc. A new initiative
of civil society engagement was undertaken under India’s G20 Presidency. The Civil
20 (C20) engagement group was created with Mata Amritanandamayi, Chancellor of
Amrita University, as the Chair of the engagement group. Amrita university coordinated
the C20 Grassroots Survey, engaging over 8,000 respondents across 64 countries
was coordinated by Amrita university to collect community level insights on issues like
health, infrastructure, environment, and inequality. It is important to have these types of
initiatives that provide evidence based support for framing and directing programs and
policies.
Global Positioning and International Cooperation
A 2019 survey of countries in Asia reported India to be a model case for inclusive
innovation with a naturally inclusive innovation ecosystem owing to its institutional
structures and an inherently high absorptive capability for innovation.
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This shows the
high potential of India’s firms and startups that are creating social entrepreneurship to
expand their models to other countries.
S&T Cluster and Regional Strategies
Despite notable policy initiatives, inclusive innovation in India continues to exhibit
structural limitations. Many programs/initiatives remain concentrated in metropolitan and
Tier-1 cities, resulting in uneven access to innovation infrastructure for rural and remote
regions. For example, a significant share of incubators and technology parks are located
in urban clusters, leaving grassroots innovators with limited support systems. Funding
mechanisms often prioritize ventures with higher commercial returns, while inclusive
innovations, such as affordable medical devices or low-cost agricultural technologies,
struggle to attract sustained, risk-tolerant capital. Awareness of intellectual property
facilitation and incubation opportunities among marginalized groups is also relatively
low, as seen in the limited patenting activity emerging from rural technology projects
supported by initiatives like NIF. Moreover, market linkages for socially driven innovations
remain weak; many affordable healthcare or education solutions fail to scale due to
insufficient connections with mainstream industry supply chains or public procurement
mechanisms. These gaps collectively indicate that, while inclusive innovation is recognized
in principle, its operational ecosystem lacks the depth and regional outreach necessary
to enable equitable participation and impact.
The characterisation of India’s policies and programs, and the way they have been
implemented provides an analytical assessment of India’s innovation journey and its
outcome. It also gives us more informed insights into the broad gaps that need to be
critically examined in depth. Chapter 6 thus builds up on this by examining the key
challenges that impede our innovation journey. The final chapter, Chapter 7, draws from
the insights of the different chapters to frame a roadmap that can help to create a
strong enabling STI ecosystem that can help India to become Viksit Bharat in 2047 with
innovation as the key driver to achieve this vision.
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Identifying Challenges
And Gaps In The Indian
Innovation Ecosystem
CHAPTER 6 Pathways To Progress:
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India’s policy shift towards innovation and entrepreneurship is influencing the STI
ecosystem in various ways. India, through various combinations of policies, is trying to
develop a knowledge economy; putting into place a growth model primarily driven by
the production, distribution and use of knowledge and information. Various encouraging
trends, as highlighted, show how India is building capacity on intellectual capital,
innovation and skills. Continuous improvement of India’s GII ranking from 81
st
position in
2014 to 38
th
position in 2025, is an outcome of improvement across various STI indicators.
India’s four (04) S&T clusters also figured in the global top 100. Significant strides have
been made in fostering a vibrant startup ecosystem; a reflection of this is the fact that
India now has the third largest number of startups globally. Several other indicators also
measure India’s impressive progress in knowledge translation and product development.
However, despite considerable investments and numerous initiatives, India’s innovation
ecosystem continues to grapple with several interconnected challenges, and persistent
gaps. Addressing these limitations is crucial to unlock the nation’s full innovative
capacity, drive sustainable economic growth, and address societal needs effectively.
This comprehensive analysis delves into the key challenges hindering India’s innovation
ecosystem, providing specific examples and highlighting the need for strategic
interventions to foster a more cohesive, efficient, and impactful innovation landscape.
6.1 Fragmentation and Lack of Coordination
A significant impediment to India’s innovation prowess is the fragmented nature
of innovation efforts, leading to duplication, inefficiencies, and a lack of synergistic
outcomes. While there is no dearth of investment or talent, these resources are often
dispersed across isolated entities with limited cross-communication and collaboration.
• Siloed Government Initiatives: Innovation initiatives are scattered across
numerous ministries and departments, including the Department for Promotion
of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Department of Science & Technology
(DST), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium
Enterprises (MSME), and the Ministry of Education (MoE). These entities often
operate independently, resulting in overlapping schemes, inefficient resource
allocation, and a lack of a unified national innovation strategy. For instance,
multiple ministries might be funding similar projects due to the lack of a central
mechanism for information sharing and coordination.
• Disjointed Ecosystem Players:
Innovation ecosystems, grassroots innovators, and
various support initiatives frequently function in parallel or isolation. This lack of
synergy and connections across actors hinders the flow of knowledge, resources,
and opportunities between different stakeholders. For example, a promising
grassroots innovation might lack the necessary connection to established
incubators or funding avenues.
• Need for Integrated Platforms: The absence of robust institutional mechanisms and
integrated platforms that seamlessly connect research institutions, government
bodies, private players (including startups and established industries), and
grassroots innovators is a critical gap. This lack of connectivity prevents the Pathways To Progress:
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efficient translation of research into viable products and services and limits the
potential for cross-sectoral collaboration.
6.2 Inadequate and Skewed Funding Models
While India’s startup ecosystem has witnessed substantial growth, access to early-stage
seed funding and patient capital remains a significant bottleneck, particularly for deep-
tech innovations and startups located outside major metropolitan cities. Similarly, in
R&D projects the funding opportunities remain limited and sub-par with GERD at 0.65%
of GDP. This has led to a ‘sub-critical diffused funding’ environment where the quality of
R&D output suffers greatly, and the knowledge created and technologies developed fail
to get converted into commercial products.
• Limited Seed and Early-Stage Funding: Despite the increasing number of startups
emerging beyond the top 5 cities (now accounting for over 50%), these ventures
often struggle to secure crucial seed funding and mentorship during their formative
stages. Investors often exhibit a preference for established business models and
locations, leaving innovative but riskier ventures in Tier II/III cities underserved.
• Misalignment with R&D-Heavy Innovation:
Existing funding mechanisms often do
not adequately cater to the long gestation periods and high capital expenditure
associated with research and development(R&D)-intensive innovations, such as
those in biotechnology, advanced materials, or sustainable energy. The focus on
short-term returns can deter investment in projects with significant long-term
potential.
• Lack of sustained investment:
Unlike conventional venture capital, which
prioritizes rapid scaling and quick exits, sectors such as deep-tech demand
sustained investment, higher tolerance for delayed returns and emphasizes long-
term support for businesses, startups, and innovations with extended timelines
to profitability. However, the limited availability of investors interested in long-
term investment creates a critical funding gap, constraining the development,
maturation, and commercialization of deep-tech and socially impactful innovations
that inherently require prolonged gestation periods.
• Sub-critical diffused R&D Funding: The different R&D institutions play an
important role towards knowledge creation and development of technology. Their
technology development is however mostly limited to TRL4, and most of the
technologies struggle to reach successful commercialisation, as funding support
is usually not available for all aspects from knowledge creation to translation.
Therefore, the dispersion of R&D grants results in sub-critical funding, which is not
enough for end product development.
6.3 Weak University, Industry and Government (UIG) Connects
A persistent challenge is the low level of collaboration between research institutions and
industry, which significantly limits the commercialization of academic research and the
industry’s access to cutting-edge knowledge and talent. Pathways To Progress:
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• Research in Silos: Research institutions often prioritize academic excellence and
publications, sometimes operating in isolation from the immediate needs and
demands of the industry. This can lead to the development of technologies with
limited real-world applicability or commercial viability.
• Underutilized Research and Limited Technology Transfer: Without strong industry
feedback and demand linkages, valuable research findings and technologies
developed in academic institutions remain underutilized. The lack of effective
technology transfer offices (TTOs) with the expertise and resources to bridge this
gap further exacerbates the issue.
• Weak Translational Research Frameworks: The absence of robust translational
research frameworks hinders the process of converting basic scientific discoveries
into practical applications and marketable products. This is often due to poor
linkages between research labs, academia, and the private sector, limiting the
flow of knowledge and resources necessary for successful commercialization.
6.4 Regulatory and Bureaucratic Challenges
Cumbersome regulatory processes and bureaucratic complexities continue to stifle
innovation and create unnecessary obstacles for startups and established businesses
alike.
• Control-Oriented Systems: Existing systems are often optimized for control and
compliance rather than agility and facilitation, creating a challenging environment
for innovators, who require flexibility and speed. Lengthy approval processes,
complex documentation requirements, and lack of transparency can significantly
delay innovation cycles.
• Need for Enabling Governance: A fundamental shift towards an “enabling
governance” approach is required, where regulations are designed to support and
accelerate innovation rather than impede it. This includes simplifying compliance
procedures, streamlining approval processes, and fostering a more innovation-
friendly regulatory landscape.
6.5 Weak Collaboration and Institutional Partnerships
A lack of effective collaboration and knowledge sharing between different levels of
governance and institutions hinders the scaling and replication of successful innovation
initiatives.
• Isolation Between State and Central Institutions: State and central government
institutions often operate in isolation, limiting the exchange of best practices and
the potential for coordinated policy implementation. Successful pilot projects and
innovative solutions developed in one region may not be effectively shared or
replicated across the country.
• Absence of Centralized Knowledge Exchange Platforms:
The lack of a centralized
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between central and state-level actors, academia, and industry is a significant
limiting factor. Such a platform could facilitate the dissemination of research
findings, successful innovation models, funding opportunities, and policy insights.
• Limited Long-Term Inter-Institutional Partnerships: The absence of sustained,
long-term partnerships between research institutions, industry players, and
government agencies restricts the development of collaborative research projects,
joint training programs, and the co-creation of innovative solutions.
6.6 Talent and Skills Gaps
Despite India’s large pool of STEM graduates, a significant mismatch exists between
the skills possessed by graduates and the requirements of the industry, particularly in
emerging technology sectors.
• Lack of Industry-Relevant Skills:
Graduates often lack the practical, industry-
relevant skills required for new-age sectors such as Artificial Intelligence (AI),
biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, and data science. This skills gap hinders
innovation and limits the employability of graduates in these high-growth areas.
• Overemphasis on Theoretical Knowledge:
The traditional education system often
emphasizes rote learning over critical thinking, problem-solving, and innovation.
This pedagogical approach does not adequately prepare students for the dynamic
and complex challenges of the modern innovation landscape.
• Need for Curriculum Reform and Industry Integration:
Bridging this gap
necessitates comprehensive curriculum reforms that emphasize experiential
learning, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Stronger academia-industry
integration through internships, joint research projects, and industry-led training
programs is also crucial.
• Importance of Reskilling and Upskilling:
Widespread reskilling and upskilling
programs, particularly in Tier II and III cities, are essential to equip the existing
workforce with the skills needed for the evolving demands of the innovation
economy.
6.7 Infrastructure Limitations in Non-Metro Areas
Innovation remains largely concentrated in major metropolitan cities due to limited
infrastructure support in Tier II and III cities and rural areas.
• Urban Concentration of Innovation Infrastructure: Innovation districts, incubation
centers, and maker labs, which provide crucial resources and networking
opportunities for startups and innovators, are predominantly located in urban
centers, limiting access for those in smaller towns and rural regions.
• Digital Connectivity and Physical Infrastructure Deficiencies:
Limited broadband
connectivity, inadequate laboratory facilities, and poor logistics in non-metro
areas further hinder the diffusion of innovation and the growth of startups in these
regions. Democratizing access to essential infrastructure is critical for fostering
inclusive innovation. Pathways To Progress:
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6.8 Weak IP Protection and Commercialization
While India has made progress in strengthening its intellectual property (IP) regime,
awareness and enforcement remain low, particularly among grassroots and academic
innovators. Furthermore, the mechanisms for commercializing IP, especially from publicly
funded research, are often weak.
• Low IP Awareness and Enforcement:
Many innovators, particularly those at the
grassroots level and in academic institutions, lack awareness about the importance
of IP protection and the processes involved. Weak enforcement mechanisms
further discourage IP creation and commercialization.
• Limited Patent Literacy and Support: There is a shortage of trained patent agents
and legal support available to small innovators and startups, making it difficult for
them to navigate the complexities of the IP system.
• Barriers to Commercialisation of Publicly Funded R&D: The commercialization
of innovations arising from publicly funded R&D is often limited due to unclear
pathways, bureaucratic hurdles, and a lack of incentives for researchers and
institutions to pursue commercialization actively. Policies that promote an
entrepreneurial mindset among researchers and streamline technology transfer
processes are needed.
• Technology Upscaling and Productisation:
India faces persistent challenges
in transforming prototypes into market-ready products, largely due to weak IP
protection and inadequate commercialization mechanisms. For instance-many
innovations from CSIR laboratories, including bio-based chemicals and advanced
materials, remain underutilized because of restrictive licensing, bureaucratic
hurdles, and limited industry linkages. Similarly, deep-tech startups often lack
structured technology transfer offices, patent advisory, and scaling infrastructure,
leaving high-potential solutions stalled at early stages. Strengthening technology
transfer systems, enhancing patent literacy, and introducing targeted
commercialization incentives are critical to bridging this gap and unlocking the
full potential of public research and startup-driven innovation.
6.9 Limited Global Integration
India’s innovation ecosystem is relatively isolated from global R&D and technology
transfer networks. International collaboration is a vital driver of innovation, and India
needs to become a more active participant in these global flows.
• Need for Enhanced International Collaborations: Scaling up international
collaborations, particularly with leading global universities, research institutions,
and innovation clusters, is crucial for accessing global knowledge, technologies,
and markets.
• Attracting Foreign R&D Investment: Efforts to attract foreign R&D investment
and facilitate the establishment of global innovation centers in India need to be
intensified. Pathways To Progress:
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• Promoting Cross-Border Knowledge Exchange: Initiatives that promote
cross-border knowledge exchange, joint research projects, and the mobility of
researchers and entrepreneurs are essential for integrating India’s innovation
ecosystem with the global landscape.
6.10 Systemic Gaps in State-Level Innovation Policies
State specific Innovation policies have largely remained a loose defined policy document
and not converted into effective actionable steps and hence implementation has not
been very effective.
• Disconnect between policy formulation and on-ground execution: Despite the
widespread adoption of innovation policies at the state level throughout India,
many of these policies tend to be more declarative than transformative, often
existing primarily in written form rather than being effectively implemented. A
key gap lies with inadequate institutional capacity, fragmented governance, and
lack of continuous monitoring mechanisms.
• Low inclusivity of innovation: State-specific potential rural/grassroots innovators,
MSMEs, and Tier II/Tier III cities often remain outside the formal innovation
network. Without robust implementation and measurable outcomes, these policies
struggle to translate intent into impact, creating fragmented progress instead of
an integrated, inclusive and holistic innovation ecosystem.
• Weak inter-state and center-state coordination: States pursue isolated agendas
without alignment to national priorities. This lack of synergy results in duplication
of efforts, inefficient allocation of resources, and missed opportunities for cross-
regional collaboration.
6.11 Lack of Innovation in Deep Tech
India’s economic growth over the past few decades has been largely driven by the
services sector, particularly IT and business process outsourcing. While this has
created employment and global recognition, it has also led to an overemphasis on
incremental service-based innovation rather than foundational, disruptive technological
advancements. This skewed focus has limited India’s footprint in the deep tech space
• Lack of long-term capital investment: Deep tech requires sustained investment,
long development cycles, and robust R&D infrastructure elements that are still
underdeveloped in India. The risk-averse nature of domestic investors, coupled
with limited collaboration between academia and industry, has further hampered
the growth of deep tech startups.
• Low technology transfer mechanisms and productization:
Deep-tech startups
frequently do not have organized technology transfer offices, patent advisory
services, and adequate scaling infrastructure, which results in high-potential
solutions being hindered at initial stages. As a result, India continues to lag in
global patent filings and breakthrough innovations in core technologies. Pathways To Progress:
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• Low inclusivity in innovation: Talent is similarly skewed toward premier institutes,
with limited penetration into Tier II and Tier III cities or state universities, while
market orientation often prioritizes high-value international segments over
domestic developmental needs. Intellectual property is frequently controlled by
private or global corporations, restricting affordable licensing and shared benefits
It is essential to fortify technology transfer systems, improve patent literacy, and
implement specific commercialization incentives to address this gap and fully realize the
potential of public research and innovation driven by startups. To shift from a services-
led model to an innovation-driven economy, India must nurture its deep tech ecosystem
through mission-driven funding, dedicated infrastructure, strong IP frameworks, and
global research partnerships. Prioritizing deep tech is not just about technological
self-reliance; it’s a key to securing long-term economic resilience and strategic global
competitiveness.
Addressing the multifaceted challenges and bridging the existing gaps in India’s
innovation ecosystem requires a concerted and collaborative effort from all stakeholders
– government, academia, industry, and civil society. Fostering synergy through enhanced
coordination, strategic funding, stronger academia-industry linkages, streamlined
regulations, robust institutional collaborations, targeted skill development, improved
infrastructure, effective IP protection, and greater global integration are crucial steps
towards realizing India’s potential as a leading global innovation hub. By implementing
comprehensive and well-coordinated policies and initiatives, India can unlock its vast
innovative capacity, drive sustainable economic growth, and create impactful solutions
for both domestic and global challenges. Pathways To Progress:
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The Road Ahead
CHAPTER 7 Pathways To Progress:
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The key insights gained from the preceding chapters provides us with evidence of
progress in India’s journey in building an STI ecosystem that can effectively link with the
production ecosystem. A positive structural shift in India’s STI ecosystem is observed
driven by innovative policy framing and implementation. This is reflected in new
institutional arrangements, governance mechanisms, incentive systems, and expanding
stakeholders’ engagements. Creation and repurposing of existing organisations, framing
and implementation of target centric mission mode programmes, and creation and
strengthening of STI intermediary bodies show new institutional arrangements for
bridging critical gaps between knowledge production, innovation, commercialisation,
and societal applications. Some instances of strong university-industry linkages, and
societal engagements are emerging with enabling roles played by the government. This
is a promising demonstration of interactive, co-evolving models that are underscored by
the Triple Helix, Quadruple Helix frameworks. Rise of startups, incubators, venture funds,
grassroots innovators are signalling deepening and diversification of innovation actors.
The study also draws attention to the gaps that need to be addressed that are impeding
progress.
The road ahead in innovation requires integrating four elements—synergy, entrepreneurial
commercialization, upscaling capabilities, and strategic reach—into a cohesive approach.
Organizations that excel in orchestrating these dimensions will navigate the complex
innovation landscape more effectively than those pursuing isolated excellence in any
single area.
These understandings have led us to present a policy roadmap aimed at advancing the
vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
7.1 Scale Successful Models
A crucial area for improvement is the scaling of successful models nationwide for a truly
inclusive innovation ecosystem. Programs, such as Atal Innovation Mission’s Tinkering
Labs, Atal Incubation Centres (AICs), and DPIIT’s Startup India hubs, have proven highly
effective in fostering early-stage innovation. However, their reach remains concentrated
in major cities and academic institutions. The programs also need to link up with global
innovation ecosystems; this can help to expose startups to diverse technical expertise,
create opportunities for global market access, and lead to new synergy and dynamism.
Suggested Actions:
• Strengthening and Creating Regional Innovation Clusters:
The existing programs
should incorporate as their key action point to co-locate multiple Atal Centres,
incubators, and Startup India hubs in existing regional clusters. They should
also provide enabling support for creating regional innovation clusters wherein
their successful institutions are embedded. This can create new synergy to the
translational efforts nationwide by leveraging local capabilities, direct attention
to create innovative solutions to regional development challenges, create more
efficient sharing of resources, and more opportunities to connect to the national
and global innovation ecosystem. Pathways To Progress:
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• Diversify stakeholders’ engagement: Regional partners such as academic
institutions and central sector R&D labs located in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, civil
society including NGOs working at regional levels, institutions promoting grassroot
innovations need to be part of the major successful programs. This will make the
programs more inclusive and help to promote regional innovation and translation.
• Create intermediary institutions:
Strengthen through intermediary institutions
collaborations of regional startups with national and international innovation
ecosystems such as global startup networks, international venture capital funds,
and establish R&D partnerships in complex technologies.
• Adequate and Focused funding: Many programs and schemes suffer from
insufficient financial support due to the prevailing practice of “sub-critical diffused
funding,” which disperses resources thinly across numerous initiatives. This
fragmented approach leads to inefficiencies in funding mechanisms, ultimately
undermining the intended impact of innovation-driven programs. To address this,
there is a need for more strategic allocation of resources, with higher and more
targeted investments in R&D, which in-turn requires a significant increase in our
Gross Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD).
7.2 Diversify the Role of Technology Business Incubators
Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) should be actively engaged across the entire
innovation-to-commercialisation value chain. Typically, they confine their support to the
technical scaling of innovations alone. Startups need critical support also for developing
business model design, regulatory navigation, market entry strategies, financial planning,
and community engagement. Many startups in spite of strong technical foundations fail
due to lack of non-technological support.
Suggested Actions:
• Expand Mentoring Scope within TBIs:
Include expertise in finance, legal/
regulatory, marketing, and social innovation alongside technical mentoring.
• Cross-disciplinary Mentorship: Build mentor pools that combine technologists,
policy experts, business strategists, and social entrepreneurs.
• Sector-Focused Incubation: TIs need to be created in deep technology sectors
that are provided with/have access to specialized resources, domain expertise,
and have tailored support systems that address the unique technology/sector
challenges of commercialisation.
7.3 Prioritise and Incentivise Knowledge Creation and Use
A robust Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) ecosystem is characterized by its
ability to generate value through the application of advances in technology, in conjunction
with innovation and entrepreneurship, to translate scientific and technological progress
into productive economic activity. The key to value creation as highlighted by OECD
(2007) is intellectual assets taken as a whole that includes aggregate measures of human Pathways To Progress:
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capital, R&D and capacity to conduct it, patent valuations, alongside other intangible
assets such as brand value, and firm-specific knowledge.
Suggested Actions:
• Ease of Doing R&D: Systematic efforts need to be initiated to provide ease of doing
R&D by ‘Removing Obstacles and Promoting Enablers’. Not only the funding for
STI activities need to be scaled up significantly, but the regulatory environment
also needs to be overhauled for effective utilization of R&D grants.
• Ready to Accept Failures: Many STI projects are not able to achieve desired
results and while there may be indications mid-way in the execution, they are
continued due to fear of accepting failures and audit issues. STI support agencies
should be empowered to recognize that some projects and initiatives may fail
or become irrelevant over time and therefore a course correction is a possible
option mid-way.
• Mandate Translational Pathways: All public funded research projects except
those that are dedicated ‘blue sky’ projects should include a detailed plan for
knowledge utilization. R&D personnel in the government sector may be allowed
to create knowledge spinoffs, startups etc. to promote translation of knowledge
generated into useful products and technologies.
• Monitoring & Evaluation Mechanism: The various policy initiatives that have been
articulated by the government to create an enabling STI ecosystem need to have
periodic assessment of value creation with a strong feedback system built in that
identifies the bottlenecks that impede value creation. However, the monitoring
and evaluation needs to be based on a ‘Premise of Trust’ and ‘Outcome Oriented
Evaluation’, rather than lengthy and time-consuming compliances which are not
really effective.
7.4 Facilitate Mobility between Academia and Industry
New and emerging science-driven technologies, such as those underpinning the 4IR
technologies, calls for effective institutional mechanisms that facilitate the mobility of
human resources between universities and industry. This enabling government approach
can strengthen university-industry linkage creating strong Triple Helix configuration.
This mobility fosters knowledge exchange, skill development, knowledge co-creation,
enhances the absorptive capacity of firms, and strengthens university-industry
collaboration.
Suggested Actions:
• Create Supportive Mobility Schemes: Introduce schemes that allow researchers,
and faculty to be associated with industry in various ways including formally
spending a few years in industry without loss of career progression. It should be
seen as an achievement and special weightage to be provided in their evaluation
assessment keeping in view the contributions made during the association with
industry. Industry professionals’ linkages with academia and research institutions Pathways To Progress:
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need to be formed. This would provide them the necessary space to contribute
effectively and to address the specificity of the industry engagement. Flexibility
has to be built in the schemes as there can be various unanticipated challenges.
• Joint Project/Programme Development: Public-Private partnership model should
have uniform functional framework across academia and research institutions
nationwide/across different funding bodies including programmes and missions.
Further, for a particular technology domain there can be differentiation but not at
the cost of changing the uniform functional programme. This will provide clarity
and strengthen public-private partnership.
7.5 Dedicated Support for Exploring Knowledge Frontiers
Knowledge frontiers challenge the established research calling for taking risky leaps into
radically novel ideas. It is a long term sustained investment in creating new institutions
that brings together an interdisciplinary team with researchers of high excellence, having
access to sophisticated instruments who can mentor young researchers with liberal large
funding availability. This builds up the capacity and capability for successfully engaging
with frontier technologies. Synergistic linkages between cutting edge scientific research
in the frontier areas with translational research can create a strong base for deep
technology firms and startups to emerge.
Suggested Actions:
• Dedicated Funding Programs: Establish flexible, long-term funding programs to
support high-risk, high-reward exploratory research in emerging areas such as
quantum technologies, advanced materials, synthetic biology, and space sciences,
even where immediate commercial outcomes are not evident. Complement this
with high-value fellowship schemes to attract and retain leading researchers from
India and abroad, fostering global talent exchange and strengthening national
research capacity. Each innovation-driven ministry should institute dedicated
funding allocation mechanisms to ensure sustained support across
relevant
stakeholders.
• Capacity building: Dedicated capacity-building funds should be established to
provide sustained support for advanced training, international fellowships, and
exposure to frontier technologies such as quantum computing, AI, and synthetic
biology in an intent to expand the national talent base and enhance the country’s
ability to lead in transformative research and innovation.
• Strengthen Global Scientific Engagement and Knowledge Exchange: Creating
attractive frameworks for diaspora scientists, researchers, and engineers to return
or collaborate with domestic institutions. Such initiatives would unlock the flow
of cutting-edge knowledge, advanced skills, and global best practices into the
national research landscape. Equally important is the active participation and
investment in international big-science programs. By engaging in large-scale,
frontier research initiatives and collaborative infrastructure projects, the country
can gain early access to transformative technologies, strengthen cross-border Pathways To Progress:
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partnerships, and reinforce its position as a key player in shaping the global
research and innovation agenda.
• Create new skilling programs: Various types of upskilling and reskilling of human
capital for deep technology startups need to be created. This has to be sector
specific and allow various types of flexibility. Dual apprenticeship with startups
vocational training system is provided for startup work in AI and robots in Germany
for example.
7.6 Development of a Deep Technology Ecosystem
A deep technology ecosystem comprises co-locations of universities, knowledge intensive
firms, deep technology startups with many incubated in universities. Handholding is
always needed for any startup; it is much needed for creating high-technology start-
ups as they face higher levels of risk and uncertainty and take a much longer period
for maturation. One of the critical requirements in technology development is to cross
the “Valley of Death”. The academic/research institutions generally work in TRL level
1 to 4. The technology maturation is at the TRL level 8 and 9. Industry involvement
and support system is mainly visible at TRL level 7 to 9. Critical support is required
particularly from TRL level 4 to 6, typically called the ‘valley of death’ as many startups
fail at this stage. Thus, high technology startups that primarily enter at TRL 4-5 level
need strong handholding in reaching technology maturation and then for scaling the
technology appropriately to become a viable product ready for commercialisation. At
scaling or early commercialisation stages startups may look for exit. In a good enabling
ecosystem, various options are visible for startups to cover these many stages. India has
created various instruments for supporting startups that have led to an entrepreneurial
culture. However, the next phase of transition calls for startups to translate towards
knowledge intensive firms, position strongly in the global value chain, and create high
end job growth, and become key drivers of frontier technology enabled products.
Suggested Actions:
• Public Procurement: R&D intensive firms, startups that are creating innovative
products should have high support through public procurement. This will be
a catalyst for a new landscape of innovation and develop a technology driven
market
• Public-Private Seed Fund:
This can help to bring private partners early in the
technology development with industry having stake in development of the
technology. It brings the complementary skills of public research institutions/
universities and industry.
• Regulatory Sandbox:
Establish regulatory sandbox provision in deep technology
domains. Regulatory sandbox is a system with regulations on new products and
are relaxed under limited conditions in order for market participants to test new
products. Sandboxes allow regulators to monitor performance, assess risks,
and intervene early before full-scale deployment. Many countries with high-
technology space have this provision such as the USA, Republic of South Korea, Pathways To Progress:
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United Kingdom etc. India needs to implement this particularly in high technology
areas by embedding it in the programme and clearly define a pathway for its
implementation. MeitY has taken an early lead in the country by framing this
provision within IoT and AI.
• Provide high end scaling support for selected startups: Identify startups that
have global scaling potential for capital intensive support.
• Increase the diversity of funding: Various ways of funding support should be there
for startups to exploit. This includes non-dilutive (financial support that does not
require the recipient to give up equity, ownership, or control of their company),
dilutive, equity funding, viable gap funding (to cover the cost that industry/private
entity is not able to commit i.e., the full capital required for commercialisation/
operationalisation), equity crowd funding (raising money online by offering equity
to many small investors), etc. BIRAC has successfully established non-dilutive
funding. TDB has multiple provisions—non-dilutive, dilutive, equity funding. These
funding models have to be introduced aggressively in other schemes. India does
not allow equity crowd funding. This type of funding has played a key role in
growth of startups particularly deep technology startups in different countries.
With proper safeguards this type of funding needs to be introduced.
• Create new opportunities for growth: Need to provide easy exit mechanisms for
startups. This can be through IPO (Initial Public offering), acquisition, secondary
sale, buyback, etc. This helps to develop the knowledge market, increase confidence
of investors, entrepreneurs, and attract foreign institutional investors. India has
established through SEBI in 2019 a listing platform the investors growth platform.
There is low participation of startups in this platform. Revisit is needed to ease the
eligibility norms, liquidity concerns, make exit alternatives more attractive, create
awareness etc.
7.7 Intellectual Property Rights Policy Update
India had for the first time articulated a National IPR Policy in 2016. This policy was
instrumental in improving the intellectual property governance and also addressed
some of the pressing challenges. However, the rapidly changing technology landscape
exemplified by deep technologies such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology,
semiconductors, and digital platforms are creating newer forms of technology monopoly,
data rights, and ethical challenges. One of the most promising aspects of India’s innovation
Odyssey are the startups that have created an entrepreneurial culture. There is now a
strong focus of the country to engage with deep technologies, develop capacity and
capability and create an ecosystem that supports deep technology startups. The main
focus of IPR is towards creating protection through patents, lacking focus on other forms
of IPR. In recent years there is some positive shift towards geographical indications.
There is no clarity for provision of utility models protection in India, which has shown to
be very useful in supporting incremental innovation. The new IPR policy should address
issues of misappropriation of intangible cultural artifacts Also it needs to provide a clear
framework for protection of biopharmaceutical IP rights and many of the contentious Pathways To Progress:
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issues that are coming due to the issues of ethics and morality, and addressing the
expanding scope of IPR in North countries i.e., seen as TRIP- plus i.e., obligations that
go beyond the minimum standards required by the TRIPs (Trade Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights).
Suggested Actions:
• Frame a New IPR Policy: India needs to frame a new IPR policy.62 The new IPR
policy has to align strongly with the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision. The new policy
should be forward looking, based on the foresight of the trends and challenges
of emerging technologies, and keeping the national and global challenges in
perspective. Diverse stakeholders have to be involved in framing the new IPR
policy with DPIIT acting as the nodal body. IPR policy has to link strongly with
the economic and social welfare, startup policy, ethical governance policies in
emerging technologies, digital rights policy etc. It is thus important to have on
board experts who have been involved in framing/implementing policies in the
above areas.
• Utility model provision: The new policy needs to bring in Utility Model protection
as a new protection instrument. This will provide innovators, especially SMEs,
startups, and grassroots entrepreneurs, with a cost-effective and simpler
mechanism to protect incremental innovations. It can encourage many creative
activities at different levels, in school and individuals and can be embedded in
Atal tinkering laboratories.
• Protecting Intangible Cultural Expressions: The new policy should incorporate
strong protection mechanisms for protecting intangible cultural artifacts (cultural
expressions embedded in practices, traditions, and performances). This can
address many of the challenges for misappropriation of India’s intangible cultural
artifacts and also help to create value to the community through proper benefit
sharing mechanism.
• Ownership and royalty sharing of intellectual property: Many universities have
created guidelines for ownership and sharing of intellectual property. However,
there is a lack of clarity and uniformity in the majority of universities on this aspect.
The new policy should articulate clear guidelines for ownership and sharing of
intellectual property with start-ups emerging from university, sharing of IPR
emerging from academia-industry linkages and define the incentive mechanism
(fiscal/non-fiscal) from IPR exploitation. The new IPR policy should give directions
for royalty distribution between research institutions and the innovators as it lacks
uniformity and enforceability across research institutions.
• Creating Awareness of different categories of IPRs: There is a strong focus on
creating awareness of patents that has created positive outcomes in terms of
patent filing across different institutions and individuals. There is however not
sufficient awareness of protection mechanisms of other forms of IPRs. Various
provisions in the PVP&FR Act for example can provide new opportunities to
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farmers and seed startups, and community rights to traditional varieties.63
Similarly various opportunities can emerge from protection through ‘geographical
indications’ (GI), design registration, trademarks. There are various provisions
under copyright law apart from the copyright protection of published documents.
This includes performers’ rights (actors, musicians, dancers, etc.), broadcast
reproduction rights (TV, radio organizations), rights of producers of sound
recordings and cinematograph film. Not much awareness is there on these
provisions to the practitioners. Clear guidelines need to be formulated for trade
secret protection. Material transfer agreement is another key provision that is not
clearly articulated and implemented in India. As India is giving a strong focus on
creating indigenous chips, awareness has to be created on protection mechanisms
through the Semiconductor Integrated Design Layout Act. Protecting products
through multiple IPR protections can create strong protection to creativity and
prevent misappropriation and help exploit the intellectual property.
7.8 Strengthen Synergies across Ministries and Departments
Many ministries have come up with promising programs to strengthen the research-
innovation-commercialisation value chain. One of the primary challenges is that many
programs operate in silos, with minimal inter-ministerial collaboration. For instance,
research-focused programs under DST and MoE often do not have direct linkages to
startup-oriented schemes under DPIIT and MSME, leading to a gap between research,
innovation and commercialization. Establishing inter-ministerial partnerships, where
research outputs from academic institutions are seamlessly transferred to startup
incubators and industry collaborators, can significantly enhance the effectiveness of
India’s innovation ecosystem.
Suggested Actions:
• Creation of an inter-ministerial centralised database: The centralised database
needs to be populated with programs created by different ministries, research
projects funded, research papers and patents emerging from the projects, startup
ventures supported by the ministries, and other intangible assets that have been
created by different ministries. This database should be accessible to all ministries
for streamlining efforts and preventing duplication.
• Create Inter-Ministerial Programs: Keeping in view the strong interdisciplinarity
needed for addressing SDG goals, collaborative inter-ministerial projects
programs need to be created. Programs should have institutional mechanisms
to pool resources across ministries and establish a governance mechanism for
coordination and monitoring.
7.9 Establishing STI Intermediary Organisations and an Overarching Body
STI intermediary institutions have traditionally been established within the science,
technology, and innovation (STI) ecosystem. However, a new approach to bridging the
gap between the STI ecosystem and the industrial ecosystem is to embed STI intermediary
organizations directly within the industrial ecosystem, and connect it to the relevant line
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Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 140
ministry. At the same time an overarching meta-institution can be created to bridge the
fragmentation in the innovation landscape, improve inter-ministerial coordination, create
directionality in funding, reduce redundancy, and strengthen the efforts of programs of
other institutions. This can help align innovation directed towards national priorities,
policy integration, and scaling innovation, and help in global positioning. A long-term
perspective of creating capacity and capability in frontier technology areas can be one
of the core mandates of this body. This body may also be entrusted with guiding the
monitoring and evaluation process.
Suggested Actions:
• Create Apex policy-making and Strategic body:
This body should be chaired by
the Prime Minister or a designated senior minister, and have members from head/
key functionaries from the S&T bodies, PSA office, NITI Aayog, inter-ministerial
bodies, etc. This body will provide directionality to shaping India’s inclusive
innovation approach towards Vishit Bharat 2047.
• Creation of STI Intermediaries: Apart from creating STI intermediaries within
their own line ministries, establish new STI intermediaries in other ministries where
there is a high level of technology application and sectoral industrial impact. Such
cross-placement will strengthen interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral linkages and
create new innovation pathways in that sector.
Figure 7.1: Proposed organisation of intermediary bodies
• Monitoring and Evaluation body: This body should have representatives
from different mission mode programs, and different programs involved in
strengthening the STI ecosystem. This body may be coordinated by NITI Aayog.
It should focus on policy integration, innovation finance, ethics and governance,
international collaboration, innovation support strategy, synergy/cross-linkages
of innovation funding, address innovation gaps, etc. Periodic monitoring and
assessment of programs should be integral to this body. There has to be different
working groups within this body for creating the needful pathways. Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
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Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 141
7.10 Strengthen Innovation Capacity in States
Several Indian states have introduced ambitious policies to promote startups and
strengthen sectors such as semiconductors, renewable energy, and biotechnology. Yet,
in many cases, policy intent has outpaced actual implementation, resulting in a gap
between stated objectives and on-ground outcomes.
States vary widely in “implementation effectiveness.” Wealthier, industrialized states tend
to deliver more. High-performing states include Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat
and Telangana: these have strong institutions, infrastructure and technical workforce,
and thus convert policies into projects. Low-performing states (e.g., Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Jharkhand, Odisha, many in North-East) suffer from weak governance, poor infrastructure
and policy gaps. For example, five advanced states (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Tamil
Nadu, Gujarat) contributed ~72% of India’s direct tax revenue in FY2024, whereas UP, Bihar
and MP contributed only ~5%,
64
reflecting how concentrated industry remains.
While ambitious policies to attract startups and industries have been launched,
implementation often runs into familiar roadblocks. Administrative bottlenecks remain
a major hurdle, complex and overlapping approval processes can stall even promising
projects (e.g., Gujarat’s SEIAA expiry in 2024).
65
Regulatory delays add another layer of
friction, with solar and biotech ventures frequently waiting on environmental approvals,
tariff decisions, or basic factory licenses. Funding is another pain point: while states and
the Centre announce generous subsidies and seed funds, actual disbursal is slow, leaving
entrepreneurs to dip into their own resources. Infrastructure gaps further complicate the
picture, semiconductor parks, power transmission lines, or biotech lab facilities promised
on paper often take years to materialize, undermining investor confidence. Finally, the
scheme’s structure itself can be unrealistic, tying incentives only to nationally cleared
projects, imposing rigid employment targets, or layering on compliance burdens that
deter rather than attract investors. Without periodic reviews or sunset clauses, such
schemes linger even when ineffective, widening the gap between vision and execution.
Suggested Actions:
• Rigorous monitoring and evaluation:
Assign clear KPIs and timelines to each policy,
and publicly track progress (e.g., in dashboards). High-level oversight works: UP’s
Startup Policy 2020 instituted a Chief Minister–chaired Steering Committee to review
outcomes and disburse incentives
.66
Other states can emulate such periodic reviews
by senior officials or independent auditors to ensure accountability.
• Centre–State coordination:
Aligning state schemes with national initiatives is
crucial if policies are to work on the ground. National schemes often set the broad
direction, but states need flexibility to adapt them to local realities, whether that
means adjusting incentives to match local cost structures or aligning with regional
priorities. Stronger joint mechanisms, like Centre–State working groups, can also
help iron out disputes on issues such as land allocation or power tariffs, ensuring
that both sides pull in the same direction.
64
https://www.newindianexpress.com/amp/story/business/2025/Mar/10/five-industrial-states-contribute-72-of-di -
rect-taxes-2?
65
https://thesecretariat.in/article/environmental-clearance-not-infrastructure-holds-up-more-than-a-thousand-proj-
ects-in-gujarat
66
https://medtech.stpi.in/startup-policy-2020 Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story 142
• Capacity-building in administration: Stronger administrative capacity can make
the difference between a policy that stays on paper and one that delivers results.
States that set up dedicated nodal agencies or project management units with
skilled professionals often see smoother execution. Bringing in industry experts
helps turn policy intent into real, bankable projects, while regular training for
officials, especially on emerging technologies like AI in biotech ensures that
decision-making keeps pace with innovation.
• Strengthening State S&T Councils: Different states have a dedicated S&T council
which is expected to identify STI needs of the state. In many states, these councils
are the central agency for coordinating STI activities and linking with different
institutions in the state. However, the councils have not been able to play a
very effective role and need to be strengthened. NITI Aayog recently released a
detailed roadmap towards this end
.67
• Sunset Clauses & Periodic Reviews: State policies should have built-in expiry dates
to prevent outdated schemes from lingering without results. Sunset clauses make
governments periodically review effectiveness before extending or redesigning an
initiative.68 This not only curbs inertia but also ensures incentive structures remain
relevant, efficient, and aligned with changing industry and technological needs.
• Transparent Fiscal Reporting: Fiscal transparency is critical for building credibility
in state policies. States should earmark dedicated budget lines for startup and
industry incentives, and publish regular reports on allocations, disbursements, and
utilization. This prevents “phantom” budgets where funds are announced but never
released. Clear, public reporting also helps entrepreneurs and investors track pending
payments, improving confidence in state support mechanisms.
India has taken a salutary paradigm shift towards innovation driven inclusive growth.
Many initiatives were undertaken from 2014 in creating an enabling STI ecosystem
to make this transition possible. New policy directions, mission mode programs,
institutions that can help to implement the various programs, and bringing diverse
stakeholders together are reflection of them. A new innovation culture of innovation
and entrepreneurship is shaping up and is reflected in many ways. Startups are creating
a new vibrancy and entrepreneurial culture in the country; creating new opportunities
for knowledge translations for economic wealth and social innovations. The loci of
innovation are now not only in firms but across universities, research institutions, MSMEs,
community and grassroot levels and individuals. Despite constraints, resilience of the
innovation systems is demonstrated in many challenging situations. Ambitious new
pathways are visible with new commitments to make India one of the leaders in deep-
technology innovations. Innovation is becoming central to realizing the vision of Viksit
Bharat by 2047. Drawing from evidence-based analytical examination of the policies and
programs, our proposition is that the recommendations that are presented can address
systematic gaps and strengthen the foundation for an inclusive, innovation-driven India.
67
https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2025-07/A-Roadmap-for-Strengthening-State-ST-Council.pdf
68
https://legal.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/law-policy/law-ministry-pitches-for-sunset-clause-fosters-clarity-
and-efficiency-within-the-system-says-legal-experts/111909493 Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story
Pathways To Progress:
Analysis and Insights Into India’s Innovation Story Dr. V. K. Saraswat
Member (Science & Technology), NITI Aayog
Prof. Vivek Kumar Singh
Senior Adviser (Science & Technology), NITI Aayog
Prof. Sujit Bhattacharya
Adjunct Professor, ASF, Amrita Vishwa
Vidyapeetham & Former Chief Scientist, CSIR-NIScPR
Dr. Anurag Kanaujia
Scientist, CSIR-NIScPR
Dr. Ashok A Sonkusare
Deputy Adviser (Science & Technology), NITI Aayog
Dr. Thyagaraju B.M.
Deputy Adviser (Science & Technology), NITI Aayog
Ms. Akanksha Dhamija
Young Professional (Science & Technology), NITI Aayog
Dr. Pratibha Chanana
Consultant (Science & Technology), NITI Aayog
Ms. Tusha Agarwal
Young Professional (Science & Technology), NITI Aayog
Ms. Simarjot Kaur
Consultant (Science & Technology), NITI Aayog
Mr. Deepak Narang
Consultant (Science & Technology), NITI Aayog
Ms. Naba Suroor
Consultant (Science & Technology), NITI Aayog
AUTHORS NOTES NOTES NOTES

Pathways to Progress: Analysis and Insights into India's Innovation Story