**Executive Summary**
The Economic Survey 2025-26 highlights India's improved innovation performance and the impact of government initiatives like the PLI Scheme and Startup India. India's Global Innovation Index rank improved to 38th in 2025 from 66th in 2019. A new Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund with a total outlay of ₹1 lakh crore over six years and ₹20,000 crore allocated for FY26 was announced.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Innovation Performance:**
* India's Global Innovation Index rank improved to 38th in 2025 (from 66th in 2019).
* Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai are among the top 50 most innovation-intensive clusters globally.
* India ranks 4th in trademarks, 6th in patents, and 7th in industrial designs in global filings in 2024.
* **Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme:**
* The PLI Scheme, launched in 2020, spans 14 key sectors.
* Over ₹2.0 lakh crore investment realised under the PLI Scheme till September 2025.
* Incremental production/sales exceeded ₹18.70 lakh crore, and over 12.60 lakhs employment generated.
* Cumulative incentives of ₹23,946 crore have been disbursed across 12 sectors, with 806 applications approved across all 14 sectors.
* Exports surpassed ₹8.20 lakh crore, driven by sectors like electronics, pharmaceuticals, and telecom & networking products.
* **Semiconductor Industry:**
* Ten semiconductor manufacturing and packaging projects approved with around ₹1.60 lakh crore in 6 states (August 2025).
* India Semiconductor Mission and the Semicon India programme together form the core of this strategy, supported by a ₹76,000 crore incentive framework.
* **Startup India Initiative:**
* DPIIT-recognised startups increased from 500 to over 2 lakhs as of 2025.
* **Research and Development:**
* A new Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund with a total outlay of ₹1 lakh crore over six years and ₹20,000 crore allocated for FY26 was announced.
* The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) is established to provide strategic direction and funding for R&D.
* **National Manufacturing Mission (NMM):**
* Announced in Union Budget 2025-26, represents the foundational policy blueprint for accelerating India's industrial growth.
**Impact Analysis**
**Smartphone Companies:**
* **Impact:** Encouraged to relocate production to India due to the PLI Scheme, contributing to India becoming a major mobile phone manufacturing hub.
* **Action Required:** Consider relocating or expanding production facilities in India to benefit from the PLI Scheme.
**Electronics, Pharmaceuticals, and Telecom & Networking Products Sectors:**
* **Impact:** Benefited from PLI scheme leading to increased exports.
* **Action Required:** Continue to leverage the PLI Scheme to boost production and exports.
**Semiconductor Manufacturers and Packagers:**
* **Impact:** Investment attracted and supported through government incentives and schemes.
* **Action Required:** Participate in government programs, invest in domestic manufacturing, and leverage available incentives.
**Startups:**
* **Impact:** Recognition and support under the Startup India Initiative, leading to significant growth in numbers.
* **Action Required:** Continue to innovate and scale operations, leveraging government support and recognition.
**Industry, Academia, and Government:**
* **Impact:** Collaboration pathways established through the ANRF to drive research, development, and innovation.
* **Action Required:** Engage in collaborative projects, seek funding opportunities, and contribute to India's R&D ecosystem.
Key Entities Referenced
Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme: A scheme launched in 2020 to encourage domestic manufacturing by providing incentives on incremental sales, spanning 14 key sectors.
Economic Survey: Annual document released by the Ministry of Finance reviewing the economic development of India.
Start-Up India Initiative: An initiative to promote and support the growth of start-ups in India.
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT): Department responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies for promoting industrial development and facilitating internal trade in India.
Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF): A foundation established to fund and promote research and development in India.
Ministry of Finance
INDIA’S INNOVATION PERFORMANCE
STRENGTHENS STEADILY, GLOBAL
INNOVATION INDEX RANK IMPROVES TO 38TH
IN 2025 FROM 66TH IN 2019: ECONOMIC
SURVEY 2025-26
PLI SCHEME ENCOURAGES MAJOR SMARTPHONE
COMPANIES TO RE-LOCATE THEIR PRODUCTION TO INDIA
UNDER PLI SCHEME, INVESTMENT OF OVER ₹2.0 LAKH
CRORE REALISED; RESULTS INCREMENTAL
PRODUCTION/SALES OF OVER ₹18.70 LAKH CRORE AND
EMPLOYMENT GENERATION OF OVER 12.60 LAKHS
INDIA’S RANK IN “GLOBAL INNOVATION INDEX” IMPROVES
FROM 66TH IN 2019 TO 38TH IN 2025
BENGALURU, DELHI AND MUMBAI FEATURE AMONG TOP
50 MOST INNOVATION INTENSIVE CLUSTERS WORLD OVER
TEN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING AND
PACKAGING PROJECTS HAVE BEEN APPROVED WITH A
CUMULATIVE INVESTMENT OF ₹1.60 LAKH CRORE IN 6
STATES
UNDER START-UP INDIA INITIATIVE, RISE IN DPIIT
RECOGNISED START-UPs FROM 500 TO MORE THAN 2
LAKHS IN 2025
प्रव तथ: 29 JAN 2026 2:11PM by PIB Delhi
“The PLI Scheme has encouraged major smartphone companies to re-locate their production to India. As a
result, India has become a major mobile phone manufacturing hub”, states the Economic Survey 2025-26
tabled in Parliament today by Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala
Sitharaman.As per the Economic Survey, in alignment with India’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, the Production
Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme was launched in 2020 and now spanning 14 key sectors, with an outlay of
₹1.97 lakh crore. Till September 2025, under the PLI scheme, an actual investment of over ₹2.0 lakh crore
has been realised, leading to incremental production/sales of over ₹18.70 lakh crore and employment
generation of over 12.60 lakhs (direct and indirect).
According to the Economic Survey 2025-2026, Cumulative incentives of ₹23,946 crore have been
disbursed across 12 sectors, with 806 applications approved across all 14 sectors. The PLI Schemes have
witnessed exports surpassing ₹8.20 lakh crore, driven significantly by sectors like electronics,
pharmaceuticals, and telecom & networking products, the survey added. Complementing PLI, the
National Manufacturing Mission (NMM), was announced in Union Budget 2025–26.
According to the Economic Survey, “The National Mission on Manufacturing (NMM), announced in the
Union Budget 2025-26, represents the foundational policy blueprint for accelerating India's industrial
growth and global competitiveness over the next decade.”
To finance innovation at scale, the Government also announced a new Research, Development and
Innovation (RDI) Fund with a total outlay of ₹1 lakh crore over six years and ₹20,000 crore allocated for
FY26. A major institutional reform driving India’s R&D and aimed at addressing the challenges
highlighted above is the establishment of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) under
the ANRF Act, 2023. The ANRF is intended to provide strategic direction, competitive funding
opportunities and collaboration pathways across industry, academia and government.
According to the Economic Survey 2025-26, India’s research and innovation ecosystem has, over the
years, strengthened significantly. The country's ranking in the Global Innovation Index (GII) improved
from 66th in 2019 to 38th in 2025. This places India at the top of the rankings within the lower middle-
income country group and first in the Central and Southern Asia region”. Furthermore, Bengaluru, Delhi
and Mumbai feature among the top 50 most innovation intensive clusters in the world and the country’s
innovation output as a whole, has recorded a marked growth.The Economic Survey states, emerging as a significant global player in Intellectual Property (IP), India
ranks 4th in trademarks, 6th in patents, and 7th in industrial designs in global filings in 2024. From FY20 to
FY25, patent applications filed nearly doubled, and trademark registrations grew 1.5 times. Designs
registered increased by 2.5 times. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) ranks India 12th
globally, for its entrepreneurship policies and entrepreneurship culture. Since the launch of the Startup
India Initiative in 2016, the number of DPIIT-recognised startups has increased from approximately 500 to
over 2 lakh as of 2025.
The Economic Survey 2025-26 states, as of August 2025, ten semiconductor manufacturing and packaging
projects have been approved with a cumulative investment of around ₹1.60 lakh crore in 6 states. In
addition, State Governments have also begun complementing the national framework, with initiatives such
as Odisha’s Semiconductor Manufacturing and Fabless Policy offering additional incentives and
institutional support.
Under the India Semiconductor Mission for a Resilient India to address structural vulnerabilities and build
resilience, the Government of India has undertaken a series of coordinated measures to develop an end-to-
end domestic semiconductor system.
The India Semiconductor Mission and the Semicon India programme together form the core of this
strategy, supported by a ₹76,000 crore incentive framework to catalyse investment in fabrication,
assembly, testing, marking and packaging facilities. Under these programmes, four targeted schemes have
been launched, each extending fiscal support of 50 per cent of project cost/capex for semiconductor and
display fabs, compound semiconductor facilities, and outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing
units, alongside a dedicated Design Linked Incentive scheme to encourage domestic chip design.
****
NB/Samrat/Pankaj(रलीज़ आईडी: 2219992) आगंतुक पटल : 341
इस वज्ञ को इन भाषाओ ंम पढ़: Urdu , ही , Bengali , Punjabi , Kannada , Malayalam