Vice-President Hamid Ansari has said that social innovation is inseparable from the cultural, ecological, political and spiritual environment in which it takes place. He was speaking at the 3rd National Conference on Social Innovation organized by the Pune International Centre in Pune today. He further said that economic progress is essential for survival and well-being but it is neither a substitute nor a panacea for social challenges that confront us. <br/><br/>The Vice-President said that India needs to do some soul searching on why there has been no earth-shaking invention or technology from India over the last 60 years. He said the honest truth is that on the Global innovation index India ranks 81 out of 141 countries below Brazil, South Africa, Russia and China.<br/><br/>In his address Mr. Ansari said that participating in a digital dialogue on 5th July this year, the Prime Minister promised to give absolute support to make enterprise and innovation easier so that India emerges as an innovation hub and keeps pace with a fast changing world.