News

By: Jamie Hennigan, National Association of Manufacturers

While there are many variables that factor into a country’s development, the ability for businesses and individuals to innovate is key to empowering economic growth and fostering opportunity. When countries like India embrace innovation, they can create new jobs, expand trade opportunities and strengthen international relations.

There is reason to hope that the government of newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi will improve the India’s innovation environment and reverse a worrying downward trend in the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. Case in point, India was ranked 76th in the annual Global Innovation Index (GII) Survey published earlier this week by Cornell University, INSEAD, and the World Intellectual Property Organisation. With a drop of 10 spots from last year, India was the worst performer among the BRICS nations and the only BRICS member that did not improve its position from last year.

Part of this drop in rankings is the result of protectionist policies that undermine international trade norms and unfairly prop up domestic markets by closing off markets to foreign competition. For example, India has implemented retail investment caps that require stores to purchase from Indian producers as well as domestic manufacturing requirements that mandate certain materials be manufactured within India. As a result of these harmful policies, this is the fourth consecutive year that India has dropped in the GII rankings.

Ultimately, these policies create barriers to cutting edge technologies and harm domestic companies by restricting innovators’ access to next generation technologies. Rather than creating false protections for domestic producers at its own economic expense, India should incentivize ingenuity and entrepreneurship by implementing policies that reward the invention and creativity of its citizens.

Manufacturers hope the Indian government will continue on a path toward productive trade negotiations that will ultimately lead to policies that incentivize innovation and foster creativity. We are ready to work with Indian businesses to share best practices and improve operations to grow economic opportunity and create jobs in both of our nations.