Declaring that 'India’s innovation engine is unstoppable,' Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday highlighted the country’s remarkable surge in patent activity, with filings touching a historic 1.43 lakh in the financial year 2025-26, marking a sharp 30.2 per cent increase over the previous year.
Sharing the data in a post on social media platform X, Goyal said the growth reflects a confident and rapidly evolving India that is steadily emerging as a global innovation powerhouse. He emphasised that more than 69 per cent of the total patent filings in FY26 were domestic.
"India’s Innovation Engine is Unstoppable! Our patent filings soared to a historic over 1.43 lakh in FY 2025-26, marking a 30.2 per cent increase over last year," Goyal noted. According to the data, India recorded 1,43,729 patent filings in FY26, up from 1,10,375 in FY25.
Domestic filings stood at 98,771, significantly higher than 68,201 in the previous year. Among states, Tamil Nadu led the chart with 22,995 filings, followed by other major innovation hubs such as Karnataka and Maharashtra. The minister also pointed to the growing contribution of educational institutions, startups, MSMEs, and public research and development bodies.
Educational institutions alone accounted for 36.5 per cent of total filings, reflecting a strong push from academia in driving innovation. "We are the world’s 6th largest patent filer, reflecting a confident India set to become a global innovation powerhouse," Goyal said.
India’s global standing in innovation has also improved, with the country now ranked as the sixth-largest patent filer in the world, according to data aligned with the World Intellectual Property Organisation. This marks the eighth consecutive year of growth in patent filings, underscoring sustained momentum in the country’s intellectual property ecosystem.
Highlighting the role of digital transformation, Goyal noted that nearly 95 per cent of patent applications are now filed online, driven by the government’s push to modernise and streamline processes under the IP India initiative. Over a five-year period, India’s patent filings have witnessed a dramatic rise of 146 per cent, increasing from 58,503 in FY21 to 1,43,729 in FY26.
The steady upward trend is evident across the years, despite minor fluctuations earlier in the decade. The data signals a structural shift in India’s innovation landscape, with the “Made in India” narrative increasingly being powered by “Invented in India,” he mentioned.