India's AI patent grant ratio much lower at 0.37% despite rise in filing

New Indian Express

25-04-2025

BENGALURU: While India has made steady progress in artificial intelligence (AI) related research and filings of patents in the several years, the country's patent grant ratio stands at just 0.37%, much lower than the US and even China.
"While educational institutions are increasingly active in AI patenting, their filing to grant ratio remains low at just 1%, in stark contrast to the 40% grant ratio observed for corporates. This disparity in patent grants within the institutional arena underscores the urgent need to enhance R&D quality, institutional support and focus on building robust, high-quality IP (in this emerging technology space)," said Nasscom's annual Patenting Trends in India report titled, 'Patent Pulse 2025 – Decoding India's Ascent in AI Patent Landscape.'
Rajesh Nambiar, President, Nasscom, said, 'While India has made good progress in strengthening its intellectual property regime, with increased filings and a more responsive Indian Patent Office, long timelines for patent approvals and quality patents remain key concerns when compared to advanced economies."
He added that urgent steps are needed to expand this capacity to sustain and accelerate the improvements seen so far.
Between 2010 and 2025, over 86,000 AI-related patents were filed, accounting for more than 25% of all technology patents in the country, the report said.
About 63% of these AI patents originated in India, while 17% were first filed in the US, it added.
Machine Learning (ML) remains the most widely used technique within AI patents, comprising over 55% of the total AI filings. Within this, Generative AI (GenAI) is emerging as a major driver of innovation, accounting for 50% of all ML-related patents.
While GenAI accounts for just 6% of total AI patents globally, it represents 28% of India's AI patent filings—positioning the country among the top five globally in this domain, the report stated.
Functional applications such as Computer Vision and Natural Language Processing dominate, contributing to over 90% of India's AI patent portfolio. Sectorally, transportation leads in AI innovation, accounting for more than 70% of all AI-related filings.
The report added that India continues to maintain its fifth position in global patent filings, with the nation's patent-to-GDP ratio increasing 2.6 times— from 144 in 2013 to 381 in 2023. Growing at an annual rate of 149.4%, the country's share in total global patents granted increased over 2X to reach 3.8% in 2023 from 1.7% the previous year.
The country saw over 90,000 patents filed in FY24. An all-time high of more than 100,000 patents were granted in FY24, a 3X increase over the previous year.