Duality in national innovation systems: the case of India

The concept of national innovation systems helps to understand the process of acquiring technological capabilities between different countries. This paper develops that concept further to understand the uneven nature of technology accumulation in different sectors, particularly the strategic and the civil, within a country. This phenomenon is clearly witnessed in some developing countries. The factors governing innovative performance in complex strategic (dual-use) technologies differ in important respects from those affecting performance in most civil technologies. They tend to require different institutional approaches and can lead to uneven technological capabilities within a particular economy. These factors have created an environment conducive to technological learning that is qualitatively different from that in which most civil technological learning takes place. India makes an interesting case study of such uneven technological learning. This paper analyses the factors that contribute to duality in national innovation systems and examines the case of India.