India Climbs to 38th Rank in Global Innovation Index, Economic Survey Highlights Manufacturing and Tech Push

Law Notify : India’s innovation ecosystem has recorded consistent gains in recent years, with the country rising to 38th place in the Global Innovation Index 2025 from 66th in 2019, according to the Economic Survey. The Survey underlines that sustained policy focus on manufacturing, research, startups and technology has helped position India as an emerging global centre for innovation and industrial growth.

A key driver of this progress has been the Production Linked Incentive scheme, which has significantly strengthened domestic manufacturing, particularly in the smartphone sector. Several global mobile phone manufacturers have shifted production to India, reinforcing its role as a major manufacturing hub. As of September 2025, investments under the PLI scheme exceeded ₹2 lakh crore, resulting in additional production and sales worth over ₹18.70 lakh crore. The scheme has also generated employment for more than 12.60 lakh people, directly and indirectly.

The Survey notes that India now leads lower-middle-income countries in innovation and ranks first in the Central and Southern Asia region. Innovation clusters in cities such as Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai feature among the world’s top 50. Overall innovation output has risen sharply, alongside India’s growing presence in global intellectual property filings.

In 2024, India ranked fourth globally in trademark filings, sixth in patents and seventh in industrial designs. The Survey also points to steady advances in the semiconductor sector. By August 2025, ten semiconductor manufacturing and packaging projects had been approved across six states, involving total investments of about ₹1.60 lakh crore.