National Manufacturing Innovation Survey (NMIS) 2021

Context

The National Manufacturing Innovation Survey (NMIS) project involves surveying and assessing innovation capabilities in India at two inter-related levels - first, at the firm level, and second, mapping and measuring India's systems of innovation in five select sectors - automobiles, food and beverages, textiles and apparel, pharmaceuticals, and information and communication technology.

NMIS 2021 is a follow-up to the National Innovation Survey 2011 of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), and combines both the approaches of Oslo 2018 manual, the international guideline for measuring innovation; and UNIDO's methodology for measuring 'system of innovation'.

The project will culminate in a report that will include an action plan and a series of short, medium and long-term policy recommendations, which will lay the foundation for capacity building and innovation system development at all levels of aggregation. Prior to the final report, there will be a series of consultations and engagements to discuss the findings in order to build momentum and consensus amongst stakeholders and an understanding of the importance of the innovation ecosystem for industrial innovation.

Objectives

The survey, launched in February 2021, aims to assess the innovation landscape of the manufacturing sector, by measuring the nature and intensity of firm-level innovations in the manufacturing sector in India, and also the functioning of the 'system of innovation' in five select manufacturing sub-sectors.

Activities

The survey comprises two main components:

1. The firm-level innovation survey The framework guiding the questionnaire consists of key innovation dimensions related to the product system, product performance, business process, structure, network, profit model, customer engagement, brand, channel and service. Innovation inputs (resources and capabilities), activities (supported by resources), outputs (resulting from activities), and innovation outcomes (relating to objectives) that are related to each of the innovation dimensions are covered in the questionnaire. This survey will cover 58 classified manufacturing and related services sectors as per the National Industrial Classification (NIC) 2008.
2. The sectorial innovation survey This survey will focus on mapping and understanding, in structural terms, the non-recursive overlay of communications and information and asset flows between government, universities, industry, financial institutions and arbitrageurs, as well as institutions supporting technical change. This survey will cover the following sectors: automobiles, food and beverages, textiles and apparel, pharmaceuticals, and information and communication technology.

Expected Impact

The survey is expected to offer an empirical understanding of current innovation activities of the manufacturing sector in India. Evidence 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. The survey will also capture the effects of technology transformations, including those enabled by ICT/Industry 4.0, and the impacts of COVID-19 on the performance of the manufacturing sector.