Karnataka, Manipur and Chandigarh tops India Innovation Index 2021. Here's list

Karnataka’s high score can be attributed to its peak performance in attracting FDI and a large number of venture capital deals, the report said.

Karnataka, Manipur and Chandigarh topped the third edition of NITI Aayog’s India Innovation Index, which ranks the states and the union territories on their innovation performance. NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery released the India Innovation Index 2021 in presence of apex pubic policy think tank member Dr VK Saraswat, CEO Parameswaran Iyer and senior adviser Neeraj Sinha.

Karnataka was the top recipient state, with 38% of the total FDI equity inflow, followed by Maharashtra (26%) and Delhi (14%).

Karnataka topped in the ‘Major States’ category and Manipur emerged as a winner in the ‘North East and Hill States’ category. Chandigarh was the top performer in the ‘Union Territories and City States’ category. According to the report, Karnataka’s high score can be attributed to its peak performance in attracting FDI and a large number of venture capital deals. While Chandigarh topped the knowledge worker pillar, Delhi topped the business environment and investment pillars.

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

While Karnataka has topped again in the ‘Major States’ category, Manipur is leading the ‘North East and Hill States’ category and Chandigarh is the top performer in the ‘Union Territories and City States’ category.

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

India Innovation Index 2021: Overall Rankings

NE and Hill States

Rank	States	III 2021
1	Manipur	19.37
2	Uttarakhand	17.67
3	Meghalaya	16.00
4	Arunachal Pradesh	15.46
5	Himachal Pradesh	14.62
6	Sikkim	13.85
7	Mizoram	13.41
8	Tripura	11.43
9	Assam	11. 29
10	Nagaland	11.00

UT and City States

Rank	UT and City States	III 2021
1	Chandigarh	27.88
2	Delhi	27.00
3	Andaman and Nicobar Islands	17.29
4	Puducherry	15.88
5	Goa	14.93
6	Jammu and Kashmir	12.83
7	Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu	12.09
8	Lakshadweep	7.86
9	Ladakh	5.91

Major states

Rank	States	III 2021
1	Karnataka	18.01
2	Telangana	17.66
3	Haryana	16.35
4	Maharashtra	16.06
5	Tamil Nadu	15.69
6	Punjab	15.35
7	Uttar Pradesh	14.22
8	Kerala	13.67
9	Andhra Pradesh	13.32
10	Jharkhand	13.10
11	West Bengal	12.98
12	Rajasthan	12.88
13	Madhya Pradesh	12.74
14	Gujarat	12,41
15	Bihar	11.58
16	Odisha	11.42
17	Chhattisgarh	10.97

Prepared by NITI Aayog and the Institute for Competitiveness, the India Innovation Index is a “comprehensive tool for the evaluation and development of the country’s innovation ecosystem.” In the third edition, the number of indicators has increased from 36 (in the India Innovation Index 2020) to 66.