Unleashing India's Innovation

India's recent growth rate has been impressive, with real GDP rising by over 8 percent a yearsince 2004. The country is also becoming a top global innovator for high-tech products andservices. Still, India is underperforming relative to its innovation potential. Even a dynamicyoung population--more than half of whom are under 25 years of age--is constrained when skillstraining and higher education are insufficient. To sustain competitiveness, economic growth, andrising living standards over the long term, India needs to aggressively harness its innovation potential.

The term innovation is broadly defined in this book to include both the creation andcommercialization of new knowledge and the diffusion and absorption of existing knowledge in newcontexts. A unique feature is the book's focus on inclusive innovation, that is, knowledge creationand absorption activities most relevant to the needs of the poor. Concrete recommendations aremade for increasing productivity and welfare through the disciplining role of competition, includingtraining and education, information infrastructure, and public and private finance as supportmechanisms for broad-based innovation.

'Unleashing India's Innovation: Toward Sustainable and Inclusive Growth' provides nationaland local policy makers, private sector enterprises, academic and research institutions, international organizations, and civil society with a better understanding of the power of innovation to fuel economic growth and poverty reduction.