NITI Aayog Unveils India S&T Scoreboard To Strengthen State-Level Research And Innovation

New Delhi, Nov 4 (KNN) NITI Aayog on Tuesday launched the India S&T Scoreboard, an interactive platform offering an integrated overview of the science and technology landscape across states and Union Territories (UTs) to support evidence-based policymaking.

The Scoreboard was unveiled by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Ashok Kumar Lahiri on November 3 at the Civil Services Officers' Institute in New Delhi.

The platform will enable states and UTs to benchmark their performance, assess research and innovation capabilities and identify areas requiring targeted interventions.

Platform to track quality and impact of research

The Scoreboard consolidates data on India's science and technology ecosystem, covering higher education and R&D institutions, deep-tech startups, incubators, research publications and patents.

It goes beyond measuring research output by tracking quality, impact, collaboration and open access across priority research areas and three sectors: academia, government R&D laboratories and industry.

The platform allows comparisons across states and UTs and provides detailed state profiles covering policies and best practices.

NITI Aayog Senior Adviser Prof. Vivek Kumar Singh said the Scoreboard captures research quality, impact and collaboration alongside output, helping states identify areas of expertise and set priorities for action.

Focus on strengthening state-level S&T capacity

NITI Aayog Member (S&T) Prof. Abhay Karandikar said effective science and technology policymaking required reliable, comparable data, noting that fragmented research and innovation information had made it difficult for states to assess their performance.

The Scoreboard addresses this gap by integrating ecosystem, publication and patent data into a single dashboard, with year-wise trends to track progress.

Department of Science and Technology Secretary Prof. Umesh V. Waghmare said the platform adds a state-level perspective to India's science and technology evidence base. He also highlighted the role of State Science and Technology Councils and universities in expanding the country's research ecosystem.

Ministry of Earth Sciences Secretary Dr T. Srinivasa Kumar stressed the importance of strengthening local S&T capabilities, noting the relevance of earth sciences to every state. He said state-level capacity was crucial for effectively utilising forecasts, early warnings and opportunities in the ocean sector.
States urged to use platform for policy development

Lahiri said greater participation from states would be essential to advancing India's science and technology capabilities. 

Guided by cooperative and competitive federalism, the Scoreboard will help states identify strengths and gaps, share best practices and improve policies and programmes. He urged all states and UTs to make full use of the platform.

The launch was followed by a demonstration of the Scoreboard and a technical session on its methodology and data sources. Representatives from state governments and academia shared feedback and suggestions for further development.

State representatives said the platform could support policy planning, strengthen institutional capacity and improve the availability of skilled S&T personnel at the state level.

The discussions underscored the need for a reliable, comparable state-level evidence base to strengthen science and technology ecosystems and advance the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047.

(KNN Bureau)