DST Releases ‘R&D Statistics at a Glance 2025-26’

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) releases “R&D Statistics at a Glance 2025-26” highlighting India’s research output, patent filings, and Gross Expenditure on R&D (GERD). The release reports India’s global position in scientific publications, trends in R&D spending as a share of GDP, and the rising share of private industry in national R&D.

R&D Statistics at a Glance 2025-26:

Dimension	Key Details
Compilation mechanism	The data is compiled through NSTMIS (National Science and Technology Management Information System) surveys.
Global research output ranking	India ranks 3rd globally in scientific publications (2022), behind China and the USA.
Patent filings (2024-25)	India records 1.10 lakh patents filed in 2024-25, with 62% filed by Indian residents.
Indian Patent Office global position	The Indian Patent Office ranks 6th globally in resident patent filings.
GERD as % of GDP	India’s R&D spending reaches 0.83% of GDP in 2021-22, the first time above 0.8% since 2009-10.
Private industry share in national R&D	Private industry share rises to 45.5% in 2021-22 and 51.8% in 2023-24.
Largest R&D investing sectors (private industry)	India’s biggest R&D investors comprise Transport, Pharma, Biotech, and IT.
Business vs government contribution	For the first time, businesses contribute more than government to national R&D.
Global comparison of R&D spending (% of GDP)	India records 0.83% (2021-22) and lags behind major economies: China (2.4%), USA (3.5%), Japan (3.3%), South Korea (4.8%), and Israel (5%).