New Delhi

India has risen to 39th position among 133 global economies in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday, adding the country also ranked first among the 10 economies in the Central and Southern Asian region.

Taking to X, Piyush Goyal wrote: "Guided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decisive leadership, India achieves these remarkable milestones -- 1st among 10 economies in Central & Southern Asia, 1st among lower-middle-income economies, 4th in WIPO Science & Technology (S&T) Cluster Ranking, with Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru & Chennai in the World's Top 100 S&t clusters and 7th globally in intangible asset intensity."

India rises to 39th position among 133 global economies in the Global Innovation Index 2024! 🇮🇳

Guided by PM @NarendraModi ji's decisive leadership, India achieves these remarkable milestones:

👉 1st among 10 economies in Central & Southern Asia
👉 1st among… pic.twitter.com/FbyE8JHJix

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) September 26, 2024

India's rise in the GII ranking assumes significance as the country was languishing in 81st spot in 2015.

The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry further said that India's innovation landscape continues to flourish, "powered by our innovators and entrepreneurs".

The GII 2024 captures the innovation ecosystem performance of 133 economies and tracks the most recent global innovation trends, a statement noted.

"In Central and Southern Asia, India continues to lead, moving one place forward to 39th position; Iran (64th), Kazakhstan (78th) and Uzbekistan (83rd) come next. In addition to India and Kazakhstan, three additional economies within the region go up in the ranking: Sri Lanka (89th), Kyrgyzstan (99th) and Tajikistan (107th)," the GII said in a statement.

According to the GII, India leads the lower middle-income group, followed by Vietnam (44th) and the Philippines (53rd).

"The most significant progress in safe sanitation access since 2012 has been observed in Central and Southern Asia (+6.6 per cent), particularly in India, and East and South East Asia (+4.6 per cent), with China leading the way," the GII said.

"(Year) 2022 saw a significant surge in electromobility within India, Thailand and Indonesia. Electric car sales in these countries tripled compared to 2021, largely driven by Tata's dominance within the Indian market and government incentives aimed at bolstering EV manufacturing," the GII statement said.

The GII is a considered as a reliable tool for governments across the world to assess the innovation-led social and economic changes in their respective countries.

According to the World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) GII 2024, Switzerland, Sweden, the US, Singapore and the UK are the world's most innovative economies, while China, Turkey, India, Vietnam and the Philippines are the fastest 10-year climbers.

Experts define GII as an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for, and success in innovation, published by the WIPO.

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The GII was started in 2007 by INSEAD (Institut Europeen d'Administration des Affaires) and World Business, a British magazine.