Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said that India’s current innovation trajectory, driven largely by patents, publications and startup listings, is insufficient to meet national development goals, urging industry to play a greater role in funding research and driving real-world impact.
Speaking at the IIT Madras Technology Summit in New Delhi, Pradhan said that while institutions have made progress in moving from “patent to IPO”, the focus must now shift towards innovation that delivers tangible benefits to society and the economy.
He highlighted a structural imbalance in India’s research ecosystem, noting that nearly 70 per cent of research and development funding currently comes from the government. He called for a more balanced model where industry contributes at least 50 per cent, stating that sustained private investment is critical for building a globally competitive innovation system.
Pradhan also questioned the reliance of the Indian industry on imported technologies despite the availability of domestic talent and research capabilities. He said Indian professionals are contributing to global technological advancements, but domestic companies continue to purchase similar technologies from abroad rather than investing in local innovation.
Scale And Structural Gaps
The minister also questioned whether leading institutions are delivering outcomes that directly benefit citizens, noting that much of the focus remains on numerical indicators such as funding raised, centres of excellence and research outputs. He said institutions that receive significant public investment must demonstrate how their work translates into tangible societal impact.
Positioning India as uniquely suited for innovation, he said the country’s scale, diversity and developmental challenges make it an “open laboratory” for solving real-world problems, where constraints can act as drivers for frugal and scalable innovation.
Highlighting a deeper structural issue, he pointed to a cultural divide between academia and industry, where academic institutions often remain hesitant to engage with commercial applications, while industry continues to rely on importing technologies instead of co-developing them domestically.
Pradhan also expanded his critique of the innovation pipeline, stating that research in India often remains confined to doctoral work, citations and publications. He said the system must move beyond these markers and focus on converting research into usable products and large-scale solutions.
Policy Push And Global Positioning
Referring to policy measures, he said the government has created a Rs 1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation fund to support industry, startups and institutions, but emphasised that public funding alone cannot sustain long-term innovation growth.
Drawing a global comparison, he noted that countries such as France are making similar large-scale investments in research and innovation, underlining the need for India to match global momentum in building a competitive ecosystem.
He also raised concerns about a lack of trust in domestic research capabilities, questioning why industry continues to depend on foreign technologies despite the availability of expertise within Indian institutions.
On the issue of scale, the minister said innovation efforts must move beyond pilot projects and laboratory experiments to large-scale deployment across sectors, ensuring that solutions reach wider populations and contribute to economic productivity.
Pradhan said India has the potential to emerge as a key innovation hub for the Global South, with its development model likely to influence a large share of the world’s population in the coming decades.
Emphasising accountability, he added that institutions must communicate their work and impact more transparently to society, especially given the level of public investment involved.
While acknowledging the rapid growth of the startup ecosystem, with more than 2.5 lakh startups, he said the focus must now shift towards strengthening the quality of innovation and improving the link between research, industry and commercialisation.
He also underlined the need for a collective approach, stating that India’s innovation journey must be driven by a shared vision focused on societal outcomes rather than isolated efforts. |
