Sweden is a country with one of the highest standards of living in the world; it is also one of the most equal societies, thanks to its generous public welfare system. To fund its successful social model, Sweden has relied heavily on its exports. And the secret behind its flourishing export economy are the different Swedish innovations and the ‘innovative national character’ of the Swedes.
Ranging from the dynamite, pacemaker, zip, three-point seat belt, Bluetooth technology to the pressurised-burner kerosene stove, on which many of us in India have seen cups of tea being made on, the world uses many of the Swedish innovations daily.
India, having climbed 41 places in seven years in the Global Innovation Index 2022, is slowly yet steadily inching its way also to becoming a world innovation ‘hub and hotspot’. With many different social welfare schemes launched by the present government, India is aiming 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, together both the countries 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 the then Swedish Prime Minister Tage Erlander visited India in 1959.
Since then, many high-level visits have taken place. The three important visits in the recent years have been that of President Pranab Mukherjee from 31 May to 2 June 2015, visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Sweden in April 2018 for the first India Nordic Summit, and the visit of the Swedish King 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 for the first time, India proactively engaged with Sweden (and other Nordic countries) when it comes to innovation. The Summit emphasised India’s strong commitment to innovation and sustainable development via its national flagship programmes such as Make in India, Startup India and Digital India. The US is the only other country in the world with which the Nordic countries have an engagement at the summit level.
The governments of Sweden and India agreed to deepen their collaboration in the field 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 cooperation to jointly tackle societal challenges including innovation driven challenges on cross sectoral issues with multi-stakeholder/agency participation from both countries”, said the Joint Declaration on Sweden-India Innovation Partnership for a Sustainable Future.
Since then, the Indo-Swedish innovation partnership has blossomed across many sectors and is beginning to show its positive impacts. Sweden has become an extremely important trading partner to India. Currently, there are over 200 Swedish companies operating in India. Investments worth $1.7 billion were made by Swedish companies in India, creating 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 continually rising. India under its Make-In-India programme is fast becoming an important and preferred manufacturing base for Swedish companies. The latest being Saab, which recently announced that it will manufacture its Carl-Gustaf® M4 weapon systems in India. Production is expected to start in 2024.
The 2nd 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 on public sector, private sector, and academia collaboration was duly noted. A model that will work well in India given India’s rich pool of talent as well as growing innovation environment and ecosystems.
The Prime Ministers of the Nordic countries, at the India Nordic Summit 2022, agreed that a strong partnership between India and Nordic countries can help promote innovation, economic growth, climate friendly solutions and mutually beneficial trade and investments.
Today, India and Sweden are collaborating bilaterally and through forums like 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 environment. Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT) and International Solar Alliance partnership being two notables.
India today has overtaken the UK to become the world’s fifth-largest economy. To further the Indian economic goals, it is ever more important for creating and establishing an ‘India Innovative Spirit’. The fact that Indians are getting to understand the constructs of the Swedish innovation ecosystem and how it functions will certainly help the Indian youth become the global innovators of the next generation.
Rajesh Mehta is an international affairs expert focussing on areas like 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 geo political and economic interactions, innovation & start-ups. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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