The Government of India's Role in Promoting Innovation through Policy Initiatives for Entrepreneurship Development

In spite of having a large publicly funded science and technology infrastructure and a sizeable education base, India has not been able to realize its innovative potential due to a fragmented innovation ecosystem. The government of India has taken many initiatives towards strengthening the innovation ecosystem, the most important of which are: i) the establishment of the National Innovation Council, whose mandate is to coordinate various innovation-related activities, and ii) the new Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2013, which is intended to promote entrepreneurship and science-led solutions for sustainable and inclusive growth. With a focus on this new policy initiative, this article describes the current innovation ecosystem and the challenges it faces, and it discusses the efforts made by the government towards the promotion of innovation for entrepreneurship development and sustainable growth. With the implementation of this new policy the early indications are that India is poised to take a big leap towards innovation-led growth. Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship. The act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth.