National Manufacturing Innovation Survey (NMIS) 2021-22 findings released, can help enhance competitiveness of Indian manufacturing

Dr. S. Chandrasekhar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, released the “National Manufacturing Innovation Survey (NMIS) 2021-22: Summary for Policymakers” on April 27, 2023.

“The National Manufacturing Innovation Survey (NMIS) 2021-22 was undertaken by DST as the Government of India has prioritised enhancing the competitiveness of Indian manufacturing and increasing its share in the GDP,” Dr. Chandrasekhar said while launching the summary report for policymakers that encapsulated the results of the survey.

“The survey findings offer wide-ranging insights into the enabling activities and barriers to innovation by firms and has closely evaluated how states and sectors have performed with respect to the manufacturing firms’ ability to produce new products, services and business processes. The detailed analysis of the survey results also provides valuable insights on the innovation ecosystem in India. Thus, I anticipate this report to be of great interest to policymakers, researchers, and practitioners in the field of innovation and economic development”, Dr Chandrasekhar elaborated.

Dr. Chandrasekhar highlighted that these learnings can add significant value to the Make-in-India programme objective, specifically the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, positioned to boost manufacturing in a variety of sectors, including electronics, pharmaceuticals, and automobiles, that are already yielding results.

He added that innovators should come out with really good innovations that are affordable, and require minimal changes in processes, and the resultant products should be cheaper, better, and environment friendly. Also, there should be enough factories with the capacity to absorb innovations.

“The NMIS study & findings will contribute to strengthening the baselines to some of capacities and capabilities, opportunities and challenges in the manufacturing value-chains that require immediate attention,” Dr. Chandrasekhar pointed out.

The National Manufacturing Innovation Survey (NMIS) 2021-22 is a joint study by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to evaluate the innovation performance of manufacturing firms in the India. The NMIS 2021-22 study was conducted as a 2-pronged survey that examined the innovation processes, outcomes, and barriers in manufacturing firms and also studied the innovation ecosystem that affects innovation outcomes in these firms. This study is a follow-up of DST’s first National Innovation Survey held in 2011.

The collaborative study by DST-UNIDO allowed a 360-degree approach to measuring manufacturing innovation outcomes, processes, and barriers at the firm level, mapping the contributing processes and interactions and thereby assessing the performance of states, sectors, and firm sizes.

Dr. Akhilesh Gupta, Secretary SERB, Senior Adviser, and Head PCPM, DST, gave the outline of the survey and said that the survey offered an empirical understanding of current innovation activities of the manufacturing economy in India as well as ways to navigate organisational rigidity to facilitate market demand for innovations. “Evidences of the barriers and challenges to technological learning, innovation and development, and up-gradation of Indian industries shall be used for devising policies, programs, and partnerships to strengthen innovation outcomes and benefits,” he added.

“The NMIS survey shows that innovation is not yet common in manufacturing but has proved to be profitable for firms. Focus on manufacturing innovation is needed in addition to expanding production,” said Dr. René Van Berkel, Representative & Head, Regional Office in India, UNIDO.

The NMIS 2021-22 survey had two specific components: the firm-level survey and the sectorial systems of innovation (SSI) survey.

The Firm-level survey captured data related to types of innovations and innovative measures taken by firms, including the process of innovation, access to finance, resources, and information for innovation, besides also recording the factors impacting the innovation activities in a firm. One in four firms was found to have successfully implemented an innovation in the observation period, and over 80% of these firms benefitted significantly in expanding markets and production and reducing costs.

The Sectorial System of Innovation survey mapped the manufacturing innovation system and its enabling role in achieving innovations in firms. The SSI study measured the interactions between stakeholders of the innovation ecosystem, relative barriers to innovation, as well as the convergence or divergence of current policy instruments in select five key manufacturing sectors important to the Indian economy – textiles; food & beverage; automotive; pharma; and ICT.

A total of 8,087 firms participated in the firm-level survey, while 5,488 firms and non-firms participated in the SSI survey. The findings from the firm-level survey are captured in the ‘Assessment of Firm-Level Innovation in Indian Manufacturing’. Separately, five reports from the study of the sectorial systems of innovation within five manufacturing sectors, namely, Automotive, Pharmaceutical, Textile, Food & Beverages, and Information & Communication Technologies (ICT), have been developed.