Economic Survey 2022: Procedural delays, low R&D expenses behind India's lesser patents

The Economic Survey 2022 has painted a grim picture when it comes to knowledge-based economy reliant on the number of patents produced and on the research and development sector. The Economic Survey stated that the number of patents granted in India is still a fraction compared to patents granted in China, USA, Japan, and Korea.

According to World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the number of patents granted in China, USA, Japan, Korea stood at 5.30 lakh, 3.52 lakh, 1.79 lakh, 1.35 lakh, respectively for 2020. Meanwhile in India  the patents granted has gone up from 7,509 in 2010-11 to 9,847 in 2016-17 to 28,391 in 2020-21.

The survey noted that one of the key reasons for relatively low patents in India vis-a-vis USA, China, etc. is India’s low expenditure on Research and Development (R&D) activities, which was 0.7 per cent of its GDP in 2020.

"However, this is not the only reason. The procedural delays and complexity  of the process is another cause for low patents in India. The average pendency for final decision in acquiring patents in India is 42 months as of 2020. This is much higher than 20.8, 20, 15.8  and 15 months respectively for USA, China, Korea and Japan . The average pendency for final decision in acquiring patents has reduced in India from 64 months in 2017 to 52 months in 2019 and further to 42 months in 2020,” according to the Economic Survey.

Notably, the Economic Survey of 2021 was also critical of Indian firm’s expenditures on Research and Development (R&D) saying that the country’s “mere-reliance on Jugaad innovation can risk her of missing crucial opportunities”.