India climbed one spot to rank 39 in the global innovation index as the country became one of the five middle income economies in the top 40 rank among 133 nations.

India secured the top position among lower middle-income countries, ranking ahead of Vietnam and the Philippines, with a score of 38.3.

The country has steadily climbed the index in recent years, improving from a rank of 81 in 2015.

“China, India, Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran (64th), the Philippines, Türkiye, Viet Nam and Morocco are the middle-income economies within the GII top 70 that have climbed the most in the GII ranking since 2013,” the report noted.

The country showed a substantial growth in international patent filings in the year, with a 44.6 percent increase.

While the country ranks higher in market sophistication at 23 and knowledge and technology outputs at 22, it ranks way below in infrastructure at 72 and business sophistication at 58.

India's rank in human capital and research is also lower, standing at 51.

In terms of hubs or clusters, the country had four science and technology clusters in 2024 compared with 26 for China and 20 for the US.