Technologies that once arrived in India through imports are increasingly being invented at home through local research institutions, industry, and startups. Three institutional foundations of an innovation economy are now advancing together: public research, corporate research and development (R&D), and deep-tech entrepreneurship. The transformation is yet incomplete, but the architecture is finally visible. Gallium Nitride (GaN) semiconductor technologies, critical for advanced radar, space systems, and next-generation communications, are increasingly being developed domestically, helping close a strategic gap in a tightly regulated, export-controlled field. At the same time, affordable immunotherapies developed in India are expanding access to advanced cancer care and demonstrating the country’s growing capacity for biomedical innovation.

Patent filings are often cited as a ready indicator of innovation. The filing numbers continue to show impressive growth. From just over 1,10,000 patent filings in 2024-25, the number grew to more than 1,43,000 in 2025-26, a 30.2% increase. Moreover, domestic applicants now account for almost seven in 10 filings.

However, the sheer volume of applications does not tell the complete story. Even a modest enquiry reveals an innovation story that begins to fray at the edges. The number of patents in force in India (just over 2,40,000 in 2025) is a fraction of those in China (5.7 million), the United States (3.5 million), and Japan (2.1 million); all these are 2024 data.

This suggests low grant rates, high abandonment rates, or a combination of both. Add to this meagre commercialisation, low R&D spending — India still spends just under 1% of GDP on research and development, against about 2.4% in China and 3.5% in the U.S. — and we see how far we are from a truly technology-driven, innovation-led economy.

The emerging pillars

However, there lies a resilient core, and shaping it are three strong and vital strands that promise to anchor India’s future. Public institutions with government support have made vital breakthroughs in long-gestation innovation. Private R&D spending exceeded that of all levels of government combined for the first time in 2024. This is expected to climb and account for 55% through 2025-26. Domestic industrial houses are beginning to reap rewards from focused and committed R&D. A maturing startup ecosystem is finding its feet beyond low-hanging service platforms, actively showcasing deep tech and complex manufacturing. That all three strands are coming of age together bodes well for India.

Editorial | Innovate or be eaten: On India and an innovative ecosystem

In March 2023, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists at the Solid State Physics Laboratory (SSPL) in Delhi and the Gallium Arsenide Enabling Technology Centre (GAETEC) in Hyderabad announced a breakthrough in making gallium nitride (GaN) monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs). The technical know-how to make these circuits, which are critical for military and defence applications, was, by widely reported accounts, refused to India under the offset provisions of the Rafale fighter jet purchase from France. The DRDO is now actively transferring the technology for GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs)-based MMICs to be used in 5G/6G wireless infrastructure, electric vehicles on-board chargers, and renewable energy inverter systems. India is now one of seven countries to have mastered this technology, alongside China, France, Germany, Russia, South Korea and the U.S. AGNIT Semiconductors, a spin-off from the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE) at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru is translating homegrown GaN technology to real-world commercial applications.

From implementer to innovator

While long-gestation R&D at public institutions is starting to pay off, there is growing optimism from academia and domestic industry-led R&D as well. The Bharat 6G Alliance (B6GA) is making rapid progress in its stated aim of contributing 10% of the global 6G patents by 2030. According to a review meeting by Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia, B6GA members have made more than 7,700 patent filings across 5G and 6G technologies, including over 4,400 foreign filings. But, these are applications, not yet grants or declared standard-essential patents, and their true impact remains to be seen. However, taken together with almost 3,000 technical contributions to 3GPP last year, a 15-fold increase from 2020, these figures point in the right direction. The World Intellectual Property Organization’s 2025 Patent Cooperation Treaty rankings showed that Jio Platforms Limited had broken into the top 20 international patent filers for the first time, rising more than 300 places to be placed 19th overall.

While patent numbers are only a part of the story, participation in standards bodies and intellectual property ownership increasingly determine who captures value from future communication networks. India is securing ownership of critical digital infrastructure and is moving from being a standard-implementer to a standard-setting innovator.

There is also a marked shift in India’s startup ecosystem. Buoyed by the government’s commitment to Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) and private capital matched by initiatives such as the more than $2.5 billion in deep-tech commitments made by members of the India Deep Tech Alliance (IDTA), Indian startups are aiming farther and higher than before. Pixxel Space, founded by two Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani alumni, is carving a niche in hyperspectral imaging technology with six satellites in orbit and a full constellation of 18 to 24 planned. The Vikram-1 low earth orbit launch by Skyroot Aerospace and the IIT Madras nurtured Agnikul Cosmos’s parallel push towards fully reusable launch vehicles promise to strengthen India’s role as a frugal space technology leader.

Startups such as ImmunoACT, incubated at IIT Bombay in partnership with the Tata Memorial Centre, are expanding access to advanced and affordable health care. NexCAR19, India’s first indigenous CAR-T cell therapy, has delivered effective cancer treatment at a tenth of typical treatment costs. Leveraging the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) early-stage support, Bengaluru-based Remidio Innovative Solutions is at the forefront in the fight against preventable blindness, such as diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma, through smartphone enabled retinal imaging systems and AI.

The direction is clear

These examples do not by themselves make India an innovation superpower but demonstrate that the three strands are coming together to weave an enduring innovation ecosystem. The GaN story illustrates the emerging innovation pipeline. Government laboratories developed the foundational capability, academic institutions nurtured the talent and research ecosystem, and startups such as AGNIT are now carrying the technology into commercial markets.

However, sustaining these three strands will demand more work, from standardising tech-transfer terms for publicly funded IP and expanding examiner capacity at the patent office, to funding the translational gap between a granted patent and a first paying customer. Yet, as we look through the innovation lens, the direction is clear. India is gradually shedding its identity as a back-office service provider and strengthening the institutions that enable nations to generate their own technology, intellectual property, and industrial capabilities. The journey remains unfinished, but the contours of an innovation economy are beginning to form.

Mukundan Chakrapani holds a PhD in science and a law degree and is an academic; Gaurav Jain is the founder of Hastin Research and an intellectual property rights expert helping enterprises, startups, and universities transform ideas into intellectual property. The views expressed are personal