The ‘India Innovation Act’, a comprehensive legislation to give a boost to research and innovation will soon form part of the legal landscape in India. According to the news report the Union minister for science & technology and earth sciences announced a time period of three months for Ficci (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) to draft the legislation and present it to the government. Ficci and the Pacific Council on International Policy, a non-partisan organisation based in Los Angeles, have joined hands to form this task force.

The India Innovation Act is likely to be modeled on the America COMPETES ACT, which focuses on three primary areas: increasing research investment, strengthening education opportunities in math, science and technology and developing an innovation infrastructure.

The “America COMPETES Act” or ‘‘America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act’’ is a bipartisan legislative response to recommendations contained in the National Academies’ “Rising Above the Gathering Storm” report and the Council on Competitiveness’ “Innovate America” report. The America COMPETES Act, through its preamble “To invest in innovation through research and development, and to improve the competitiveness of the United States” focuses on three primary areas of importance to maintaining and improving United States’ innovation in the 21st Century: (1) increasing research investment, (2) strengthening educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics from elementary through graduate school, and (3) developing an innovation infrastructure.

A law aiming towards investing in innovation and education thus improving the competitiveness of India in the global economy is the need of the hour.