India 66th most innovative nation among 142 economies

New Delhi, July 2: India has been ranked as 66th most innovative nation among 142 economies even as the country fares poorly in terms of political stability and ease of doing business, a report said on Tuesday.

The Global Innovation Index (GII) 2013 was published by Cornell University, INSEAD, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and CII as a knowledge partner.

The study ranked 142 economies across the world on their innovation capacity and efficiency. Switzerland topped the list, and it was followed by Sweden, United Kingdom, Netherlands and the US.

"India ranked 66th in the GII ... It ranked poor in the areas such as political stability (123rd), Ease of starting business (128th), School life expectancy (109th), Pupil-teacher ratio (108th), Knowledge absorption (122th)," CII said in a statement.

However, India ranked first in the Central and South Asian region followed by Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka, and it stood 11th in overall Innovation efficiency ratio, it said.

It said that a group of middle and low-income countries, including China and India are outpacing their peers, but haven't broken into the top of the GII 2013.

The report used 84 indicators including the quality of top universities, availability of microfinance and venture capital deals.

Further, it said that several of the emerging economies have demonstrated rising levels of innovation compared with their peers.

PTI