The number of domestic patents filed for new innovations has surpassed the number of patents filed by foreign entities, at the Indian patent office in the Quarter Jan-Mar 2022, for the first time in 11 years, according to information provided by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Tuesday.
“Of the total 19,796 patent applications filed, as many as 10,706 were filed by Indian applicants compared with 9,090 by non-Indian applicants,” the official statement said.
This shows that the R&D efforts being undertaken by Indian entities has picked up and is bearing fruit.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the achievement of this milestone will take India a step closer to achieving its ambitious target of being in the top 25 nations of the Global Innovation Index.
He said that the coordinated effort by the Ministry and Indian patent (intellectual property) office has led to an increase in the number of IPR (intellectual property rights) filings and also reduced the pendency of patent application at IP offices.
Some of the key initiatives taken by the Government over the years that has bolstered India's IP regime includes fee concessions like 10% rebate on online filing, 80% fee concession for Start-ups, Small Entities and educational institutions, and provisions on expedited examination for Startups and MSMEs.
The achievements for India listed by the ministry include:
· Filing of patents have increased from 42763 in 2014-15 to 66440 in 2021-22, more that 50% increase in a span of 7 years
· Nearly five times increase in grant of patents in 2021-22 (30,074) as compared to 2014-15 (5978)
· Reduction in Time of patent examination from 72 months in Dec 2016 to 5-23 months at present, for different technological areas
· India’s ranking in Global Innovation Index has increased to 46th in 2021 (+35 ranks) as compared to from 81st in 2015-16.
