New Delhi: Private educational institutes are filing for patents at a significantly higher rate than government institutes, but when it comes to the actual grant of patents, the story is quite different.
Of the 37,679 patent applications in the financial year 2024-25, the top 50 private institutes filed for 19,540, while the top 50 government institutes filed for just 615—a roughly 32-to-1 ratio. However, the ratio of patent grants was just 2-to-1: private institutes received 399 patents, while their government-run counterparts received 193.
This data, presented in Parliament on Wednesday, reflects that the top 50 private institutes logged a patent grant rate of just two percent over FY24-25, while their government counterparts logged a 31 percent rate.
In FY 2023–24, this trend had been more stark—government institutes received 632 grants compared to private institutes’ 569, despite the latter filing approximately 17 times more applications.
These figures—showing that private universities are receiving patents at a rate dramatically lower than the rate at which they are submitting them—were tabled in Parliament Tuesday.
The data was released in response to a question by BJP MP Anand Kumar, who asked, “…whether it has come to the notice of the government that some institutes are filing patent applications, which lack the required innovation or utility, only for the purpose of obtaining government grants/incentives, if so, the details thereof.”
Minister of State of Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada, while not confirming or denying any such practice, outlined existing oversight mechanisms to prevent misuse of patent applications.
“The patent applications are granted only after substantive examination to determine compliance with the requirements of novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability under the Patents Act, 1970,” he noted in the response.
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A surge in filings
The scale of increase in patent filings by educational institutes has been significant.
Applications rose from 19,191 in FY 2022–23 to 23,413 in FY 2023–24, then sharply rose to 37,679 in FY 2024–25.
By 2 March 2026, filings this financial year had reached 49,531, against a national total of 1,26,558 applications. More strikingly, universities and colleges submitted nearly 39 percent of the total patent filings—up from 23 percent in FY 2022–23.
Grants have not kept pace. In 2022–23, 816 grants were awarded to universities and colleges, compared to their 19,191 filings—a grant rate of approximately 4.2 percent. In 2023–24, 3,335 grants were awarded to educational institutes, and in 2024–25, the figure fell further to 2,721.
In Parliament, the ministry, however, highlighted that grants in any given year may correspond to applications filed in earlier years, since patents take time to move through the examination pipeline.
Why institutes file so many
The government offers substantial incentives to ramp up patent filing numbers.
Official patent fees are 80 percent slashed for recognised institutes, whether public or private.
This benefit was extended to private institutes through the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2021. It applies across the patent lifecycle, including filing, prosecution, and renewal, reducing overall costs by lakhs.
Additionally, an expedited examination track was introduced for institutes, startups, and certain other categories, allowing faster processing of patents.
The National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission has also conducted over 9,500 awareness programmes since its launch in December 2021 across 28 states and eight Union Territories, reaching more than 25 lakh students and faculty.
Beyond fees and speed, there is a ranking incentive. India’s National Institutional Ranking Framework—the government’s official university ranking system—awards marks to institutes for patents published, not just for patents granted. Publication is automatic once an application is filed, once 18 months have lapsed.
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The Galgotias case
The parliamentary question on the purpose behind educational institutes’ patent applications arose in the wake of the controversy involving the private Galgotias University in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
In February 2026, the university had to withdraw from the India AI Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi after it was found displaying a commercially available Chinese-manufactured robotic dog as a product developed at its own centre of excellence.
The university’s apology attributed the episode to a staff member who was unaware of the product’s origins.
The incident directed attention to Galgotias’s patent record.
Since its founding in 2011, the university has filed 2,297 patent applications—exceeding IIT Bombay’s 1,646, IIT Madras’s 1,782 and IIT Kanpur’s 939—but received grants on only 24 of those applications. The success rate is approximately one percent.
In 2022–23 alone, Galgotias filed 1,089 applications—more than all IITs’ combined that year.
A private university in Punjab’s Phagwara similarly submitted approximately 7,500 patent applications. Its grant rate was three percent.
How patent examination works
A patent in India is not granted simply because an application is filed. Under the Patents Act, 1970, every application must pass a substantive examination test of three criteria. These are novelty (is the invention new?), inventive (is it non-obvious to someone skilled in that field?), and industrial applicability (can it actually be used?).
The process has two tiers—an examiner assesses the application first, followed by a review by the Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks (CGPDTM). Any person can oppose a patent before it is granted. Any interested party can challenge it afterwards.
In its response, the ministry pointed out mechanisms to prevent misuse of patent applications, stating, “The department of biotechnology (DBT) has governance, and review mechanisms such as finance committees, governing bodies, and research advisory boards oversee research programmes and utilisation of funds. In addition, mission-mode programmes monitor projects through milestone-based disbursement and expert review.”
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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