The article highlights that India's research and development spending is low, at around 0.7% of its GDP, with less than two-fifths coming from the private sector. Most of this investment is spent on existing technologies, particularly in pharmaceuticals, computing, and telecom, rather than creating original intellectual property. The gap in innovation is evident in the number of patent applications, with China leading India 25:1.
Key takeaways:
- India has become the first country in the world to land a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole, inspiring its private sector to launch some moonshots of its own.
- India was spending a paltry 1.2 trillion rupees ($15 billion) on research and development just before the pandemic.
- R&D expenditure in India has remained stuck at around 0.7% of gross domestic product since at least 1995, with less than two-fifths of it coming from the private sector.
- China has a 25:1 lead over India in patent applications, indicating a gap in original intellectual property.