Report: India Creativity Index Released, Delhi Among Top

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May 6 – Delhi took the top spot this year in the recently released annual report from Martin Prosperity Institute measuring Global Creativity Index, called “Understanding the Creative Economy in India”.

Chandigarh, Punjab, Kerala, Goa, Mizoram, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Maharashtra round out the top 9, while Haryana and Manipur tied for 10th.

The report measures India’s creativity levels throughout various regions with regard to Technology, Talent, and Tolerance (the “3Ts”).The 3Ts function as a leading indicator to measure regional potential for the 28 Indian states and 7 union territories. The report also presents both the component sub-indices of the Creativity Index and other related measures related to regional technology, talent, and tolerance.

Tolerance

Tolerance is a quality recognized as essential to objective thinking since the 19th century. In the Indian context, the Mosaic index has been used to measure the level of tolerance in a region.

The Mosaic Index is calculated as the concentration of Scheduled Tribes or Castes, the percentage of the population that is foreign born and of rural and urban literacy, which is then computed against the Religious Herfindahl Index, which measures religious diversity.

According to the report, the regions in the Far North, Far East, and South West stand out. This is particularly the case for regions located on or near geopolitical borders, major metropolitan areas and along the West coast.

Talent

Talented individuals are capable of thinking of groundbreaking ideas that result in newly developed technologies which would help to stimulate economic growth. Regions that successfully attract and retain Talent are likely to be the most competitive, nationwide and worldwide.

Talent is measured as the percentage of a region’s workforce that is employed in an occupation related to the Creative Class. They are made up of individuals who work to solve complex problems or work with new ideas, technology and creative content, and include people working in management, finance, law, healthcare, science, engineering, architecture, design, education, arts, music and entertainment.

Approximately 14 percent of India’s total workforce is part of the Creative Class, and the concentration of Creative Class workers varies by region: for example, two regions (Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir) combine for over 40 percent of the Creative Class workforce, while another three areas (Chandigarh, Punjab, and Goa) combine for over 20 percent.

The Far North, Far East, Southern States and Union Territories appear to have higher concentrations of the Creative Class workers than the Central and Western regions.

The Talent Index combines Creative Class and degree share measures. Approximately 4.1 percent of Indians over the age of 25 hold a Bachelor’s degree or higher, and degree share is not concentrated equally throughout the country. The States or Union Territories with the highest degree shares are Chandigarh (16.47 percent), Delhi (13.12 percent) and Puducherry (8.59 percent).

Technology

Technology is a critical component for any region seeking economic growth and prosperity.

Three composite indexes — Tech Connectivity, Tech Education, and Computer Access—  are used to calculate a region’s level of technological capability and, together, these measures are used to produce the Technology Index.

Tech Connectivity is composed of three sub-categories:

  • The share of households per 100,000 with broadband internet access;
  • Hard line telephone access; and
  • Mobile phone access.

Tech Education is measured by combining the numbers of universities, colleges, technical colleges and technical research institutions in a region.

Internet connectivity is measured by the share of households with a computer or laptop with access to the internet.

According to the report 3.1 percent of the country’s households have access to the Internet, with certain regions having much higher access rates, such as in Chandigarh (18.8 percent), Delhi (17.6 percent), and Goa (12.7 percent).

In addition, access to a mobile or landline phone follows a similar pattern. 63.2 percent of Indian households have such access, with varying rates in the regions of Lakshadweep (93.7 percent), Delhi (90.8 percent), and Kerala (89.7 percent).

Approximately 9.5 percent of the Indian population have access to a computer, but the actual percentage in regions vary, with Chandigarh (33.2 percent), Goa (31.1 percent) and Delhi (29.1 percent) having the highest rates. In addition, technical educational institutions are well distributed around the county, with particularly high scores in Mizoram (4.99), Tripura (3.72), and Delhi (3.11).

Similar to the Talent Index, Technology Index scores are apparently highest in regions with large urban centers and/or strong international economic connections built by way of trade or tourism.

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