India to host GII launch

India will host the launch of the 12th edition of Global Innovation Index (GII) 2019. The event is being co-hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and WIPO. GII assumes significance as it is globally considered to be a source of insight into the multidimensional facets of innovation-driven growth.

It provides 80 detailed metrics for 129 economies and has become one of the leading references for measuring an economy's innovation performance. India has consistently been among the top-ranked countries in the world in terms of innovation parameters.

According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the 2019 theme for GII is "Creating Healthy Lives -- The Future of Medical Innovation," which aims to explore the role of medical innovation as it shapes the future of healthcare.

In 2016, the central government had created a high-level "Task Force on Innovation" to improve India's innovation system based on the GII metrics.

"At the policy level, India's 'Make in India', 'Startup India', 'Innovate India' and 'Digital India' initiatives were rolled out under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to further leverage India's

innovation performance," the Ministry said in a statement.

"DPIIT has recruited 458 new technically competent 'patent examiners' in various fields of technology in addition to the existing 130. Manpower has been increased in the trademark offices with 57 regular appointments of trademark examiners and 100 more on contractual basis," the statement added.

Additionally, the statement said that patent and trademark rules have been amended, simplified, have been reengineered and streamlined "so that the process is expedited and pendency of patent applications is brought down".