India patent filings cross 1.4 lakh in FY26, Nasscom urges value-driven shift
Synopsis
India's patent filings have hit a record 1.4 lakh in FY26, but the Nasscom report's more sobering finding is that grants actually fell — from 33,500 to 21,400 — even as filings surged. Educational institutions file 40% of patents but receive only 10% of grants, while MNCs dominate approvals. The filing boom, in other words, masks a quality and commercialisation deficit that India must urgently address.
Key Takeaways
India's patent filings crossed 1.4 lakh in FY26 , marking the ninth consecutive year of growth.
Filings grew 30.2 per cent in FY26, with resident filings up 46.2 per cent .
Resident filings accounted for nearly 70 per cent of all applications, led by startups, MSMEs, and educational institutions.
Patent grants fell to 21,400 in FY26 from 33,500 in FY25, highlighting a filing-to-grant quality gap.
Educational institutions file nearly 40 per cent of patents but receive only around 10 per cent of grants.
Multinational corporations secured over half of all grants despite filing less than one-third of applications.
India's patent filings crossed the 1.4 lakh mark in FY26, driven by a sharp rise in resident applications, according to a report by Nasscom released on Tuesday, 28 April. The report called for a decisive shift from a filing-led mindset to a value-driven patent ecosystem, flagging a growing divergence between filing momentum and grant outcomes.
Filing Growth and Key Drivers
Patent filings grew 30.2 per cent in FY26, following a 19.8 per cent rise in FY25, marking the ninth consecutive year of growth and setting new highs in annual expansion. The surge was primarily driven by resident filings, which jumped 46.2 per cent in FY26 after rising 32.2 per cent in FY25.
Resident filings accounted for nearly 70 per cent of all applications, led by strong participation from startups, MSMEs, educational institutions, and individual innovators. The share of computer technology in total filings rose to 19.1 per cent in FY26, up from 16.3 per cent in FY25, reflecting the deepening role of digital innovation in India's IP landscape.
The Grant Gap: A Critical Concern
Despite the filing surge, patent grants moderated sharply to 21,400 in FY26 from 33,500 in FY25 — a trend the Nasscom report flags as a structural concern. Educational institutions, which account for nearly 40 per cent of patent filings, hold a disproportionately low share of grants at around 10 per cent.
In contrast, multinational corporations dominated patent grants, accounting for over half of all grants despite filing less than one-third of applications. This divergence points to a quality and prosecution gap that domestic filers — particularly academic institutions — have yet to bridge.
What Nasscom Says Must Change
The report emphasised the need to improve filing-to-grant conversion rates, strengthen the quality of patent applications, and enhance support across examination and prosecution stages. It also called for building stronger commercialisation pipelines through licensing, technology transfer, and spin-offs, ensuring patents translate into tangible economic and industrial outcomes.
Consistent tracking of patent outcomes — including grants, citations, and commercialisation metrics — was highlighted as essential to better align research investments with real-world impact.
Strategic Sectors in Focus
The Nasscom report pointed to artificial intelligence, deeptech, biotechnology, semiconductors, and clean energy as priority areas for a more focused, outcome-oriented patent ecosystem. According to the report, strengthening IP activity in these sectors
Point of View
Ninth straight year of growth — will dominate the coverage, but the Nasscom report's most uncomfortable data point is the one going in the opposite direction: grants fell from 33,500 to 21,400 even as filings surged 30 per cent. India is filing more and converting less, which means the innovation pipeline is widening at the top but narrowing at the bottom where it actually matters commercially. The MNC-vs-institution grant gap is particularly telling: academic filers, who account for 40 per cent of applications, are receiving 10 per cent of grants — a structural indictment of application quality and post-filing prosecution support in India's university system. Until India fixes the grant conversion rate and builds credible commercialisation pipelines, the filing boom risks becoming a vanity metric.
NationPress
1 May 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
How many patent filings did India record in FY26?
India's patent filings crossed the 1.4 lakh mark in FY26, growing 30.2 per cent over the previous year. This marked the ninth consecutive year of growth, according to a Nasscom report released on 28 April.
Why did patent grants fall in FY26 despite record filings?
Patent grants moderated to 21,400 in FY26 from 33,500 in FY25, even as filings surged. The Nasscom report attributes this to quality gaps in applications and weak support during examination and prosecution stages, particularly among domestic filers.
Which sectors are driving India's patent filing growth?
Computer technology led sectoral growth, with its share of filings rising to 19.1 per cent in FY26 from 16.3 per cent in FY25. Nasscom has identified AI, deeptech, biotechnology, semiconductors, and clean energy as priority areas for future focus.
Why do educational institutions file so many patents but receive so few grants?
Educational institutions account for nearly 40 per cent of patent filings but only around 10 per cent of grants. This disproportionate gap reflects lower application quality and limited expertise in patent prosecution — areas the Nasscom report says need urgent structural support.
What does Nasscom recommend to improve India's patent ecosystem?
Nasscom recommends improving filing-to-grant conversion rates, strengthening application quality, building commercialisation pipelines through licensing and technology transfer, and consistently tracking patent outcomes including grants, citations, and commercialisation metrics.
