Historic Surge in Applications Led by Domestic Innovators (Image Credits: Pixabay)
India recorded a staggering 143,729 patent applications in the financial year 2025-26, a 30.2 percent jump from the previous year’s 110,375 filings.[1][2] This marked the ninth straight year of growth, crossing the 140,000 threshold for the first time. However, patent grants plummeted to around 21,000, down sharply from over 33,000 the year before, as a shortage of examiners continues to bog down processing timelines, according to Nasscom’s latest analysis.[3][4]
Historic Surge in Applications Led by Domestic Innovators
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal highlighted the milestone in a recent post, noting that more than 69 percent of the filings came from domestic sources. States like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Maharashtra topped the list, underscoring a vibrant homegrown innovation drive. Educational institutions dominated with nearly 55,000 applications, while startups contributed over 4,000.[4]
Goyal emphasized the shift toward self-reliance. “Our patent filings soared to a historic 1.43 lakh+ in FY 2025-26, marking a 30.2 per cent increase over last year,” he stated. “With over 69 per cent of patents filed domestically… we are showing the world that Made in India is powered by Invented in India.”[1] Government measures, including fee reductions for startups and expedited examinations, fueled this momentum.
Grants Plunge, Exposing Systemic Strain
While filings celebrated new heights, approvals told a different story. Grants fell 36 percent year-over-year to 21,439, with tech sectors like computers and electronics seeing a 28 percent drop to 7,179.[4] Nasscom described India’s grant performance as “unimpressive,” with numbers declining to 21,000 in FY26 despite global grant growth of 5.2 percent to 2.1 million.[3]
The disparity grew starker when comparing key players. Multinational corporations led in grants, while educational bodies filed the most applications. Startups secured just 649 approvals from their 4,156 filings, revealing challenges in converting ideas to protected assets.[4] This filing-to-grant gap risks undermining India’s rising global profile, where it ranks sixth in overall filings.
| Fiscal Year | Filings | Grants |
|---|---|---|
| FY 2024-25 | 110,375 | 33,504 |
| FY 2025-26 | 143,729 | 21,439 |
Examiner Shortages Fuel Processing Backlogs
A chronic lack of patent examiners lies at the core of the slowdown. The Indian Patent Office operates with around 500 examiners – far short of the 1,000 needed – leading to pendency exceeding 250,000 applications and average processing times stretching to 24-30 months from earlier 9-12 months.[5] Nasscom’s Patent Pulse 2026 report pinpointed this constraint, noting that while filing processes improve, a “huge gap” persists compared to global benchmarks.
Government efforts included promoting 370 examiners in FY24, which cleared backlogs initially but created entry-level vacancies. New hires of 407 examiners joined in January 2025, yet contractual staff handling 70-80 percent of work face training gaps and renewal delays.[4][5] First examination reports dropped sharply from 126,000 in FY24 to 40,000 last year, amplifying the bottleneck.
Path Forward: From Volume to Value
The crunch affects more than numbers. Delays deter investment, slow product launches, and erode confidence in India’s IP regime, particularly for tech-heavy fields like AI, where filings exploded sevenfold recently.[4] Experts like patent attorney Richa Pandey pointed to low-quality filings exacerbating rejections under Section 3(k), which bars pure software patents.
Nasscom urged a shift from “bulk filings” to a “value-focused” ecosystem, prioritizing quality, commercialization, and grant efficiency. “India needs to move from a ‘filing-driven’ approach to ‘Value-focused’ patent ecosystem,” the report stated.[3] With recent recruitments and digitization underway, sustained hiring and training could bridge the gap, turning India’s filing prowess into a true innovation engine.
As India eyes global leadership, resolving the examiner shortage stands as a critical test. The coming years will reveal whether this surge translates into enduring economic gains or remains a tale of unrealized potential.
