Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh has recently chaired the 9th BRICS Science and Technology Meet which came to a conclusion on November 26, 2021.

Key Points
• During the meet, Dr Jitendra Singh underscored the need for BRICS countries to come together and innovate cost-effective, sustainable, affordable, accessible, and scalable scientific solutions, because they face similar and unique challenges.
• He called for working towards rightful place for BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) in the Global Innovation Index
• According to Dr Singh, this can be made possible by further strengthening cooperation in the fields of Science, Technology & Innovation (STI.
• India is also preparing the Innovation Cooperation Action Plan 2021-2024 with support from all BRICS countries

Global Innovation Index (GII)
GII is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity and success in innovation. The index is prepared by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), in association with INSEAD, Cornell University, and other organisations and institutions. It is prepared on the basis of both subjective and objective data fetched from sources like International Telecommunication Union, World Bank and World Economic Forum. It was first published in 2007 by INSEAD and World Business magazine.

India ranks 46th in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2021. From 81 in 2015, it has moved to 46 in 2021.

How is index computed?
GII is computed by taking the average of scores in two sub-indices namely, Innovation Input Index and Innovation Output Index. Innovation Input Index is composed of five pillars while Innovation Output Index have two pillars. Each of these pillars describe a credit of innovation. Their score is calculated by weighted average method.

Innovation Cooperation Action Plan
In July this year all BRICS countries had agreed to the STI-led BRICS Innovation Cooperation Action Plan (2021-24) proposed by India during 12th Meeting of BRICS S&T Steering Committee.