FROM LABORATORIES TO STATES: NITI AAYOG BUILDS A NATIONAL SCOREBOARD TO TRACK INDIA’S SCIENTIFIC POWER
November 3, 2026
NITI Aayog on Tuesday launched the India Science and Technology (S&T) Scoreboard, an interactive digital platform designed to map and assess the research, scientific capabilities and innovation ecosystem across India's states and Union Territories. Developed by its Science and Technology Division, the initiative aims to provide policymakers with comparable state-level data, enabling governments to identify weaknesses, evaluate research performance and learn from regions demonstrating stronger scientific capabilities.
The platform brings together information on research institutions, scientific publications, patents, start-ups, research funding and state-level science and technology policies. It will provide a national overview alongside individual state profiles, allowing users to compare the performance of two states or Union Territories and examine their research contributions across different sectors. The scoreboard will also cover 11 priority research areas of national importance, including artificial intelligence, clean energy, semiconductors, critical minerals and agriculture.
Its database will incorporate information from central, state and private higher education institutions, research and development laboratories, deep-tech start-ups and Atal Tinkering Labs. It will also track research funding from government and private sources, patent applications, patent strength, research specialisations and inter-state research collaborations. Additionally, the platform will document state-level innovation and start-up policies, highlighting successful practices that other governments could potentially adopt.
The initiative comes amid India's growing scientific and technological presence internationally, alongside persistent concerns about the concentration of research infrastructure and output within a relatively limited number of institutions. India has improved its position in the Global Innovation Index from 81st in 2015 to 38th in 2026. The country ranks third globally in scientific publications and sixth in patent filings. The proportion of resident applicants in India's patent filings has also increased from 25.5 per cent to 56 per cent. Nevertheless, approximately 67 per cent of the country's research publications between 2001 and 2020 originated from around 450 centrally funded institutions, highlighting the uneven distribution of research capabilities.
Speaking at the launch, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Ashok Kumar Lahiri emphasised that strengthening India's scientific ecosystem cannot remain exclusively a responsibility of the Union government. He called upon state governments to take greater ownership of research development and become active participants in the country's scientific transformation. He also stressed that fundamental research must translate into practical innovation and eventually reach industrial production.
Umesh V. Waghmare, Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology, said the scoreboard would help policymakers identify strengths and weaknesses across different components of the research ecosystem and formulate prioritised interventions. The platform is also expected to improve coordination among state governments, central ministries and industry.
NITI Aayog has identified periodic data updates, stronger engagement with state governments and the gradual expansion of the platform into a comprehensive national source of science and technology information as its next priorities. The initiative seeks to make India's scientific development more measurable, comparable and geographically inclusive, while encouraging states to strengthen their own research institutions and innovation capabilities.