Indian households now owe almost half of GDP.
Household financial liabilities hit ₹158.5 lakh crore in March 2026 — 45.9% of GDP, up from 36.4% in 2022. The ratio hasn't fallen in a single quarter since.
CapitalVia Research Desk ·
Data explainer
30 Sep 2026
30 Sep 2026
India ranks 49th for what it puts into innovation. 25th for what it gets out.
Innovation inputs
49th
→
Innovation outputs
25th
Out of 139 economies, India sits 38th overall — the same as last year. But the two halves of that score tell different stories: the resources going in (institutions, talent, infrastructure, markets, firms) rank in the bottom half of the top 50; the results coming out rank 25th.
38thOverall rank, unchanged from 2025
16 yrsStraight years as an “overperformer” — joint-longest run with Viet Nam
1stAmong 36 lower-middle-income economies
The seven pillars: where India sits, 1st to 139th
Rank out of 139 economies. Further left is better.
Input pillars — what goes inOutput pillars — what comes out
1st139th
Overall: 38th
Institutions
60
Human capital & research
54
Infrastructure
62
Market sophistication
35
Business sophistication
63
Knowledge & technology outputs
15
Creative outputs
43
Knowledge & technology outputs (15th) is India’s only top-20 pillar. Business sophistication (63rd), Infrastructure (62nd) and Institutions (60th) are the weakest.
What carries India — and what holds it back
Selected indicator ranks out of 139 economies.
Where India leads
- 1stICT services exports
- 4thLate-stage VC deal count
- 8thFinance for startups & scale-ups
- 10thUnicorn valuation, % of GDP
- 12thLabour-productivity growth
Where India lags
- 111thKnowledge workers
- 108thFDI net inflows, % of GDP
- 103thWomen employed with advanced degrees
- 98thKnowledge-intensive jobs (11.3% of employment)
- 83thResearchers per million people (259)
R&D spending is 0.6% of GDP (56th).
The punchline
India’s innovation runs on software exports, start-ups and venture money — not on labs and knowledge workers.
WIPO says the seven middle-income “climbers” now face an innovation glass ceiling: their outputs already exceed what their inputs predict. For India, the next leg depends on spreading research, technology adoption and firm-level innovation beyond its digital and start-up sectors.
Why it matters to you
Salaried employeesOnly 11.3% of India’s jobs are knowledge-intensive (98th of 139). That is the pool that pays a premium — and it is still small, so the skills that put you in it are scarce.
FoundersStart-up finance (8th) and late-stage VC (4th) are among the world’s deepest. The under-served gap is research-led product: university–industry R&D collaboration ranks 76th.
Business leadersBusiness sophistication ranks 63rd. Firms fund 40.6% of India’s R&D, and business-performed R&D is about 0.2% of GDP. Closing that gap is where the next rank gains come from.
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