NITI Aayog invites EoI for preparation of India Innovation Index 2025

NITI Aayog has invited expression of interest (EoI) from universities and consulting firms for preparation of India Innovation Index (III) 2025 after putting it on the backburner for nearly four years with states often raising concerns related to perception and data.

The last index, III 2021, was published in July 2022 and since then no index has come out.

The India Innovation Index 2025 is expected to be out by the second half of 2026-27 as the Aayog has set a time duration of six months for the study following the award of the contract.
India Innovation Index is prepared by the NITI Aayog in collaboration with a suitable knowledge partner. The first edition of the Index, called India Innovation Index 2019 (III 2019), was launched in October, 2019 followed by India Innovation Index 2020 launched in January, 2021, and India Innovation Index 2021 launched in July, 2022.

As part of the project, the knowledge partner will be expected to understand and analyze the overall innovation ecosystem of the country, including inputs, overall operating framework, and the relevant outputs in various relevant sectors.

“It shall identify and measure quantitative as well as qualitative indicators (input as well as output) related to innovation performance of Indian states and UT, while considering regional disparities in innovation across India,” the Aayog said in the terms of reference issued for undertaking the study.
Besides, it will be expected to develop a Weighting Scheme for each indicator, determine reliable and transparent sources for data collection for each indicator, ensure the transparency and replicability of the index methodology for calculating the index score and develop an Index report to rank states and UTs. Besides, it will compare and correlate the Indian Innovation Index with different international innovation indices for bench-marking India’s performance while also recommending future improvements in the design and development of the index.

India Innovation Index 2019 had 33 indicators which increased to 36 in India Innovation Index 2020 and 66 in India Innovation Index 2021.