India generated relatively few patents a decade ago — just 5,978 were granted in 2014-15, most to foreign applicants. Reforms to the patent office, cheaper filing fees for startups, and the growth of startups changed that: grants rose from 5,978 to 34,134 by 2022-23, crossed one lakh in 2023-24 as a backlog was cleared, and settled at 33,504 in 2024-25. For the first time, most patent filings now come from Indians rather than foreigners.
Research, Patents & Innovation
Research, Patents & Innovation
India's patent output grew several times over in a decade, and one year stands apart from the trend. Grants rose from 5,978 in 2014-15 to 34,134 in 2022-23, then crossed one lakh for the first time — 1,03,057 in 2023-24 — after the patent office promoted nearly 370 examiners to controllers and cleared a backlog, disposing of a record 1.26 lakh applications. Grants fell to 33,504 in 2024-25 while new examiners were recruited, so the one-lakh figure is a peak rather than a new level. Filings tell the steadier story: 1,10,375 in 2024-25, past one lakh for the first time, with 61.79% now from Indian applicants. India climbed the Global Innovation Index from 81st in 2015 to 38th in 2025. The counter shows patents granted per year.
38th
Global Innovation Index (2025)
6th
Patent filings (world)
0.84%
R&D spend (% of GDP, 2023-24)
Patents granted / year (2014-15 → 2024-25)
| Year | Patents granted |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 5,978 per year |
| 2016 | 6,326 per year |
| 2017 | 9,847 per year |
| 2018 | 13,045 per year |
| 2019 | 15,283 per year |
| 2020 | 24,936 per year |
| 2021 | 28,385 per year |
| 2022 | 30,073 per year |
| 2023 | 34,134 per year |
| 2024 | 1,03,057 per year |
| 2025 | 33,504 per year |
2015
0per year
Patents granted
20152025
Since 2015
Added
+27,526 per year
2015
5,978 per year
2025
33,504 per year
Why it matters Patents and research are the seedbed of a modern economy — turning ideas into companies, exports and high-value jobs.
- Patents granted 5,978 (FY15) → 33,504 (FY25); record 1,03,057 in FY24
- Patent filings crossed one lakh for the first time in FY25: 1,10,375
- GII rank 81 (2015) → 38 (2025); India 6th in global patent filings
- Resident filings 24.8% (2013) → 55.2% (2023); ANRF (₹50,000 cr) set up
- Source: CGPDTM annual reports 2017-18, 2022-23 and 2024-25; PIB; WIPO
History
Climbing the innovation table
India rose from 81st in the Global Innovation Index in 2015 to 38th in 2025, and became the world's sixth-largest patent filer. Resident filings jumped from a quarter to over half of the total, and the Anusandhan National Research Foundation, set up under a 2023 Act, aims to channel ₹50,000 crore into research over 2023-28.
How it works
Innovation is nudged along by a whole scaffolding: a modernised, faster patent office, the Startup India programme, research funding, and thousands of Atal Tinkering Labs putting tools in school children's hands. A patent gives an inventor a temporary monopoly in exchange for publishing how the invention works — so ideas are both rewarded and shared. India also measures itself against the world through the Global Innovation Index, using its rank to spot weak links.
Outlook
India has climbed to 38th in the Global Innovation Index (from 81st a decade ago), ranks 6th in the world for patent filings, and in 2023-24 domestic patent applications outnumbered foreign ones for the first time. Grants fell from 1,03,057 in 2023-24 to 33,504 in 2024-25 while new examiners were recruited, so the next step is steadying output at a higher level — and, most importantly, lifting R&D spending (0.84% of GDP in 2023-24). The ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation Scheme, approved on 1 July 2025, aims to pull in more private research money.
By the numbers
Patents granted 5,978 (FY15) → 33,504 (FY25), with a record 1,03,057 in FY24; filings 1,10,375 (FY25), past one lakh for the first time, 61.79% from Indian applicants; GII rank 81 (2015) → 38 (2025); ANRF ₹50,000 cr. Source: CGPDTM annual reports 2017-18, 2022-23 and 2024-25; PIB; WIPO.
Data current to: FY 2024-25
Source: CGPDTM annual reports — patents granted per financial year (year shown is the year the FY ends): 5,978 (2014-15) to 33,504 (2024-25), with a one-off record of 1,03,057 in 2023-24 when a backlog was cleared. GII rank 81 (2015) → 38 (2025). · link