How India and Sweden are collaborating to create a global innovation revolution
Sweden is a country with one of the highest living standards in the world; it is also one of the most equal societies, thanks to its generous public welfare system. To finance its successful social model, Sweden has relied heavily on its exports. And the secret behind its thriving export economy is the various Swedish innovations and the Swedes’ ‘innovative national character’.
Everything from dynamite, pacemaker, zipper, three-point belt, Bluetooth technology to the pressurized burner kerosene stove, which many of us in India have seen cups of tea being made on, the world uses many of the Swedish innovations on a daily basis.
India, which has climbed 41 places in seven years in the Global Innovation Index 2022, is slowly but steadily moving towards becoming a “hub and hotspot” for world innovation. With many different social welfare schemes launched by the current government, India is striving to create a greater degree of social equality. Given the Swedish history of innovation and India’s huge untapped demographic talent and dividend, combined with it being one of the largest growing markets on the planet, both countries together represent a formidable combination when it comes to innovation.
India and Sweden established diplomatic relations in 1948 based on the strong foundation of shared democratic values. India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru visited Sweden in 1957 and then Sweden’s Prime Minister Tage Erlander visited India in 1959.
Since then, many high-level visits have taken place. The three important visits in recent years have been President Pranab Mukherjee from 31 May to 2 June 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sweden in April 2018 for the first Nordic India Summit, and the visit of the King of Sweden at the invitation of President Ram Nath Kovind in December 2019.
It was the India Nordic Summit, hosted by Prime Minister Modi and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven in 2018, where India for the first time proactively engaged with Sweden (and other Nordic countries) on innovation. The summit highlighted India’s strong commitment to innovation and sustainable development through its national flagship programs such as Make in India, Startup India and Digital India. The USA is the only other country in the world with which the Nordic countries have a commitment at the summit level.
The governments of Sweden and India agreed to deepen their cooperation in the area of innovation through a strategic innovation partnership. “The Innovation Partnership represents a step change in India-Sweden science and innovation collaboration, underpinning our mutual commitment to drive prosperity and address global challenges such as climate change and sustainable development through innovation. The partnership sets the framework for future collaboration to jointly address societal challenges including innovation-driven challenges in cross-sectoral issues with the participation of multiple stakeholders/agencies from both countries,” said the joint declaration on Sweden-India innovation partnership for a sustainable future.
Since then, the Indian-Swedish innovation partnership has flourished across many sectors and is beginning to show its positive effects. Sweden has become an extremely important trade partner for India. There are currently over 200 Swedish companies operating in India. Investments worth 1.7 billion dollars were made by Swedish companies in India, which created 200,000 direct jobs and 2,200,000 indirect jobs.
Big brands like Volvo, Ikea, Saab are now household names. Swedish investments in India across sectors are continuously increasing. India under its Make-In-India program is fast becoming an important and preferred manufacturing base for Swedish companies. The latest is Saab, which recently announced that it will manufacture its Carl-Gustaf® M4 weapon systems in India. Production is expected to start in 2024.
The second India-Nordic Summit, held in May this year, further strengthened the Modi government’s commitment to innovation and digital initiatives. The Nordic approach to innovation systems designed for collaboration within the public sector, private sector and academia was noticed. A model that will work well in India given India’s rich pool of talent as well as growing innovation environment and ecosystem.
The prime ministers of the Nordic countries, at the India Nordic Summit 2022, agreed that a strong partnership between India and the Nordic countries can help promote innovation, economic growth, climate-friendly solutions and mutually beneficial trade and investment.
Today, India and Sweden cooperate bilaterally and through forums such as the India-Nordic Summit. They have become partners in many leading international innovative initiatives that focus not only on innovation but also on sustainability and the environment. The Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT) and International Solar Alliance partnerships are two standouts.
India has today overtaken Great Britain to become the world’s fifth largest economy. To further the Indian economic goals, it is increasingly important to create and establish an “India Innovative Spirit”. The fact that Indians are beginning to understand the constructs of the Swedish innovation ecosystem and how it works will certainly help the Indian youth to become the next generation of global innovators.
Rajesh Mehta is an international expert focusing on areas such as market entry, innovation, geopolitics and public policy. Manu Uniyal, is a media consultant and a writer based in Sweden, working in the areas of India-Nordic geopolitical and economic interactions, innovation and start-ups. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the position of this publication.
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