- DPIIT launches website and mobile app for IPR
Secretary Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), launched the website and mobile application [Learn to Protect, Secure and Maximize Your Innovation] on Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) today in New Delhi.
The website and app has been developed by Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM)-DPIIT in collaboration with Qualcomm and National Law University (NLU), Delhi.
Speaking on this occasion, Secretary DPIIT said that it is an important project taken up by the Department as both the website and app will be very useful to the startup community which holds great promise for India and its economy.
Startups are more tuned into investment and risk taking but lack legal knowledge and today when we are on the threshold of the fourth industrial revolution the interface between technology and law is growing and therefore it is very essential that a specialised website and app is available to help startups with the IP process, added Secretary DPIIT.
The modules of this e-learning platform [L2Pro India IP e-learning Platform and the L2Pro India Mobile App] will aid and enable youth, innovators, entrepreneurs and small and medium industries (SMEs) in understanding IPRs for their ownership and protection, integrate IP into business models and obtain value for their R&D efforts. The L2Pro has been successfully implemented in Germany, United Kingdom, Italy and France, benefiting immensely from close collaboration with respective IP organizations and public research institutions. The learning app has been customized for India in order to ensure that innovation which is fundamental to startups are protected, managed and commercialised.
The L2Pro India IP e-learning platform will have 11 modules for three different levels: Basic, Intermediate and Advanced. Each module comprises of e-text for understanding concepts, short animated videos of the concepts, links to additional resources on the subject and quizzes for assessment and grading the learner’s knowledge and understanding of the subject. Learners will access the L2Pro IP e-learning platform through their desktop, laptop, mobile browser and mobile application (available on Android & iOS), and will be provided e-certificates by CIPAM-DPIIT and NLU Delhi and Qualcomm on successful completion of the e-learning modules.
- Young women from Tribal Areas to receive Digital Skills Training
Ministry of Tribal Affairs’ partners Niti Aayog and Facebook for Second Phase of Goal
Union Minister of Tribal Affair announced the second phase of GOAL (Going Online as Leaders), a Facebook program aimed at inspiring, guiding and encouraging tribal girls from across India to become village-level digital young leaders for their communities.
Launched earlier this year in March, GOAL connects underprivileged young tribal women with senior expert mentors in the areas of business, fashion and arts to learn digital and life skills. In the second phase of the program, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Facebook together will digitally mentor 5000 young women in India’s tribal dominated districts.
Speaking at an event to commence the next expanded phase of the program, Minister said, “Through this partnership the GOAL program will provide economically and socially marginalized young women with the tools and guidance they need to succeed, using technology they may otherwise have not had access to.
Participants from the states of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Maharashtra, who are enrolled in the current program were also present at the event.
The program will include weekly one-to-one mentoring sessions, focused on a range of skills such as digital literacy, entrepreneurship and online safety. In total, more than 200,000 hours of guidance will be provided using Facebook family of apps including WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Following the program, the participants will graduate to the GOAL alumni and will continue to receive support and guidance from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Facebook.
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs will also work with district administration and other government agencies to help secure qualified participants with a fellowship, so they can put their newly learned skills to work.
More than 125 young women have enrolled in the program.
Most of them are now using the internet to highlight issues their communities face and have expressed a desire to set up their own business.
Facebook is committed to closing the digital gender gap by enabling more women to get online and access digital services. This program is important because it actively supports these young women to build leadership qualities and encourages them to be champions and help share their learnings with others.
This announcement illustrates the power of partnership between government and private sector, these young women all have a keen desire to upskill, enter the workforce and be active member of their communities – their aspirations supported by the ministry, NITI Aayog, Facebook’s intensive mentoring and training program.
Through our efforts at WEP, NITI Aayog is committed to ensuring the success of these bright women leaders.
- NITI Aayog launches India Innovation Index 2019
Karnataka tops the Innovation Index followed by Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Delhi
NITI Aayog with Institute for Competitiveness as the knowledge partner released the India Innovation Index (III) 2019. Karnataka is the most innovative major state in India. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana, Haryana, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh form the remaining top ten major states respectively. The top ten major states are majorly concentrated in southern and western India.
Sikkim and Delhi take the top spots among the north- eastern & hill states, and union territories/city states/small states respectively. Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh are the most efficient states in translating inputs into output.
The index was released in the presence of Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog; Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog; Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science; Renu Swarup, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology and Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, AYUSH.
The India Innovation Index would create synergies between different stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem and India would shift to competitive good governance.
Shri Amitabh Kant added that “India has a unique opportunity among its myriad challenges to become the innovation leader in the world.”
Cluster-based innovation should be leveraged upon as the focal point of competitiveness.
The index is a great beginning to improve the environment of innovation in the country as it focuses on both the input and output components of the idea.
The index is a good effort to benchmark the performance of the state with each other and promote competitive federalism.
The study examines the innovation ecosystem of Indian states and union territories. The aim is to create a holistic tool which can be used by policymakers across the country to identify the challenges to be addressed and strengths to build on when designing the economic growth policies for their regions. The states have been bifurcated into three categories: major states, north-east, and hill states, and union territories/city states/small states.
Background:
Recognizing the role of innovation as a key driver of growth and prosperity for India, NITI Aayog with Institute for Competitiveness as the knowledge partner has released the India Innovation Index 2019. The study is an outcome of extensive research and analysis, which looks holistically at the innovation landscape of India by examining the innovation capabilities and performance of Indian states and union territories. The aim is to create a holistic tool which can be used by policymakers across the country to identify the challenges to be addressed and strengths to build on when designing the economic growth policies for their regions.
The index attempts to create an extensive framework for the continual evaluation of the innovation environment of 29 states and seven union territories in India and intends to perform the following three functions- 1) ranking of states and UTs based on their index scores, 2) recognizing opportunities and challenges, and 3) assisting in tailoring governmental policies to foster innovation.
The India Innovation Index 2019 is calculated as the average of the scores of its two dimensions – Enablers and Performance. The Enablers are the factors that underpin innovative capacities, grouped in five pillars: (1) Human Capital, (2) Investment, (3) Knowledge Workers, (4) Business Environment, and (5) Safety and Legal Environment. The Performance dimension captures benefits that a nation derives from the inputs, divided in two pillars: (6) Knowledge Output and (7) Knowledge Diffusion.
The index presents the latest findings and highlights the regional catalysts and caveats for promoting innovation readiness. The Report offers a comprehensive snapshot of the innovation ecosystem of 29 states and seven union territories. It also includes a section on state profiles covering 33 indicators looking at the different facets of innovation in India.
The index shows that the innovation ecosystem of the country is strong in south and western parts of India. In fact, three of the top five major states are from southern India. Delhi and Haryana seem to be an exception to this rule and seem to be doing well on the Index. Thus, there seems to be a west-south and north-east divide across the country.
The states have been bifurcated into three categories: major states, north-east and hill states, and union territories / city states / small states. Karnataka is the leader in the overall rankings in the category of major states. Karnataka’s number one position in the overall ranking is partly attributed to its top rank in the Performance dimension. It is also among the top performers in Infrastructure, Knowledge Workers, Knowledge Output and Business Environment.
Among the category of major states, Maharashtra performs the best in the dimension of Enablers. This implies that it has the best enabling environment for innovation, even though the state comes in at the third position in the overall innovation index.
The broad level learnings and some policy imperatives at the national level include increasing the spending on research and development, improving the capability of top rung educational institutions in the country to produce greater innovation outputs. There is also a need for greater coordination and collaboration between the industry and educational institutions for enhancing innovation capability. A collaborative platform consisting of all the stakeholders of innovation – innovators, researchers, and investors from the industry should be developed. This will help in strengthening the industry-academia linkages and will ease the process of technology transfer by providing a platform for innovators to showcase their inventions.
At the state level, broad level key learning includes forming policies at the state level that seek to improve the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem. Cluster development programs are also an area in need of greater coordination and can benefit from a more open collaborative approach. Also, the industrial policies at the state level should focus more on innovation. At present only a few policies exist for innovation even in the most innovative states and union territories.