On the specific of Indian innovation system formation

Government, business and higher education are three major players of any national innovation system. Development of these participants and links between them determine the effectiveness of innovative development of the country. National innovation systems of different countries have their own characteristics due to the specifics of the country, the historical development of the existing institutional infrastructure and goals of innovation development, which are usually determined by the government. In this regard India is quite a specific case. Formation of the scientific and technological system of the country began immediately after the country gained independence in 1947. It was the exclusive jurisdiction of the state. Over the decades it built an extensive network of research institutions, the institutional infrastructure for the coordination and development of science and technology. At the same time, the higher education system, developing in the same years, was aimed at providing wide access to the higher education for the country's population. Research and development were not prioritized in their activity. The private business was not involved in the scientific and technological development with the exception of the sectors in which the state allowed or encouraged this activity. Reforms of the 1990s substantially changed the playing field for the private sector and higher education and outlined the new challenges to the government. As before, many socio-economic imbalances of the country could be avoided by the scientific and technological progress and innovations. Years 2010-2020 were announced the "decade of innovation" by the government. The government embarked on the development of innovative policy of the country and the formation of a national innovation system. Thus, India has entered the stage of formation of a national innovation system with a well-developed scientific and technological infrastructure, which, however, requires a significant transformation for the effective operation within new economic conditions. Academia had to solve the problem of establishing relationships with business and increase R&D intensity in a very limited funding from the state. Private business, thanks to the efforts of multinational companies in the country, received a nice boost to activity in the field of research and development. Another important task for it is to strengthen ties with the academic sector and development of new industries that were liberalized and become available for private business. The inclusion of micro, small and medium-sized businesses in innovation processes becomes one of the many tasks of the state innovation policy. In a new policy paper "Science, Technology and Innovation Policy of India ", published by the Government of India in 2013, all these problems are somehow defined, solutions are proposed. Time will show how they contribute to the formation of an effective innovation system of the country.

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