India’s Innovation Ecosystem: R&D, Deep Tech & Patents

Subject: GS 03: Science and Technology

Context: India is gradually transitioning from a services-led, technology-implementing economy towards an innovation-driven economy.

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Emerging Pillars of India’s Innovation Ecosystem

• Public Research: Public institutions, with government support, have made long-gestation technological breakthroughs.
  • A key example is the development of Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology, critical for advanced radar, space systems, and next-generation communications.
• Corporate R&D: Private R&D spending exceeded that of all levels of government combined for the first time in 2024.
  • It is expected to account for 55% of R&D spending in 2025–26.
  • Domestic industrial houses are increasingly benefiting from focused and committed R&D.
• Deep-Tech Entrepreneurship: India’s startup ecosystem is increasingly moving beyond low-hanging service platforms towards deep tech and complex manufacturing.
  • The India Deep Tech Alliance (IDTA) has members with more than $2.5 billion in deep-tech commitments.
  • This shift is visible across multiple sectors: 
  • Space: Pixxel Space is developing hyperspectral imaging technology, with six satellites in orbit and 18–24 satellites planned.
  • Launch Technology: Skyroot Aerospace has developed the Vikram-1 launch vehicle.
  • Reusable Launch Vehicles: Agnikul Cosmos is pursuing fully reusable launch vehicles.
  • Healthcare: ImmunoACT developed NexCAR19, India’s first indigenous CAR-T cell therapy.
  • AI-enabled Healthcare: Remidio Innovative Solutions uses smartphone-enabled retinal imaging and AI for diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma.

Patent And Innovation Landscape

• Rising Patent Filings: Patent filings increased from over 1,10,000 in 2024–25 to more than 1,43,000 in 2025–26, representing a 30.2% increase.
• Growing Domestic Participation: Domestic applicants account for almost seven in ten filings, indicating increasing participation by Indian innovators.
• Patent Stock Gap: Patents in force in India stood at just over 2,40,000 in 2025, significantly lower than China (5.7 million), the USA (3.5 million) and Japan (2.1 million).
• Patent Conversion Challenge: The relatively low number of patents in force may indicate low grant rates, high abandonment rates, or a combination of both.
• Low R&D Intensity: India spends just under 1% of GDP on R&D, compared with around 2.4% in China and 3.5% in the U.S.

India’s Growing Footprint In Technology Standards

• Bharat 6G Alliance (B6GA): Aims to contribute 10% of global 6G patents by 2030.
• Patent Filings: B6GA members have made 7,700+ patent filings across 5G and 6G technologies, including 4,400+ foreign filings.
• Jio Platforms: Entered the top 20 international patent filers in the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization’s) 2025 Patent Cooperation Treaty rankings, rising more than 300 places to rank 19th.

Key Challenges To India’s Innovation Ecosystem

• Technology Transfer: Need to standardise technology-transfer terms for publicly funded IP.
• Patent Examination: Need to expand patent examiner capacity.
• Commercialisation Gap: Need to address the gap between a granted patent and the first paying customer.
• R&D Spending: India’s R&D spending remains just under 1% of GDP, below China and the U.S.
• Patent Conversion: The gap between filings and patents in force points to possible low grant rates, high abandonment rates, or both.

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Way Forward

• Standardise Tech-Transfer Terms: Standardise technology-transfer terms for publicly funded intellectual property (IP) to make the transfer of technologies from public institutions to industry clearer and more consistent. This can help move publicly developed technologies towards commercial applications.
• Expand Patent Capacity: Expand patent examiner capacity at the patent office to strengthen the patent system’s ability to handle the growing number of applications and improve the efficiency of patent examination.
• Bridge Translational Gap: Fund the gap between a granted patent and the first paying customer to address the commercialisation challenge and help innovations move from patents to real-world applications.

News Source: The Hindu

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