Context: The STI report is released by the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
Key Points
Patent Data

• Between 2005-06 and 2017-18, a total of 5,10,000 patent applications were filed in India. However, nearly three-quarters were filed by foreign entities or individuals.
• In other words, in these 13 years, just 24% of patent claims came from Indians.
• Patent filing in India is governed by Patents Act, 1970. Recently, the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India and the DST have jointly initiated the formulation of a new national Science Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP 2020).
• A patent is the granting of a property right by a sovereign authority to an inventor.
• This grant provides the inventor exclusive rights to the patented process, design, or invention for a designated period in exchange for a comprehensive disclosure of the invention.
• According to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), India stands at the 7th position on number of patents filed.
• China tops the list, followed by the USA and Japan.

Reasons for Dismal Performance

• Poor investment in research and development (R&D) by the government, and the private sector.
• The pathetic state of higher education.
• Lack of employable personnel, who have neither the skills nor the aptitude in a variety of fields.
• Lack of funds and a lack of conducive environment for start-ups.
• However, as per a recent report by the IBM Institute for Business Value, most Indian start-ups have failed because they lack pioneering ideas based on new technologies.
• The Indian start-ups also do not come up with unique business models and prefer to copy successful ideas from elsewhere and focus on creating value merely by fine-tuning these successful concepts to local markets.
• The Makeshift solutions or Jugaad enjoys respectability in India. It has been termed frugal innovation by some peoples.

Steps need to be taken

• To spark the innovation in India, research content at major institutions, especially at universities, needs to be increased.
• The national labs can be linked to universities to create new knowledge ecosystems.
• Greater public engagement of the science and research establishment and attracting more scientists from across the world in India.
• Increasing scientific temper among students.
• Strengthening higher education in India.
• There is a need to increase funding in R&D and to create a conducive environment for innovation.
• Participation of the private sector in R&D needs to be increased.

Road Ahead

• The makeshift solutions provide short term solutions, but to increase innovation, there is a need for pure research, which can be done when Indians will come up with new and original ideas.
• Experience of developing countries shows that Science & Technology Innovation policies that are well integrated into national development strategies and combined with institutional and organizational changes can help raise productivity, improve firm competitiveness, support faster growth and create jobs.