India achieved yet another milestone in the context of the Intellectual Property (IP) innovation ecosystem.

For the first time in the last 11 years, the number of domestic patent filing has surpassed the number of international patent filing at Indian patent office in the Quarter January-March 2022. Of the total 19796 patent applications filed, 10706 were filed by Indian applicants against 9090 by non-Indian applicants.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal appreciated the consistent efforts made by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on strengthening the IPR regime in India by fostering innovation, and reducing compliance burden.

The coordinated effort by DPIIT and IP office has led to increased IP awareness among all strata of society. These efforts have on the one hand led to an increase in the number of IPR filings and on the other has reduced the pendency of patent application at IP offices, he said.

Goyal also mentioned that this will take India a step closer to India’s ambitious target of being in the top 25 nations of Global Innovation Index.

Some of the key initiatives taken by the government over the years that have bolstered India’s IP regime include: fee concessions like 10 per cent rebate on online filing, 80 per cent fee concession for Start-ups, small entities and educational institutions, and provisions on expedited examination for Startups and MSMEs along with other categories

The cornerstone laid down by National IPR policy and the efforts made by the government have transpired into the following achievements for India:

–Filing of patents have increased from 42763 in 2014-15 to 66440 in 2021-22, more than 50 per cent 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; and

–India’s ranking in Global Innovation Index has increased to 46th in 2021 (+35 ranks) from 81st in 2015-16.