Research and patenting in Indian universities and technical institutes: An exploratory study

• Study of publication (2000–2012) and patent (1970–2012) output of Indian universities and institutions.
• Conclusion 1: contribution of Indian universities in patenting is low.
• Conclusion 2: incentives are needed to increase patenting by Indian academia.

This study uses data on publication, and patents, of 347 universities and technical institutes of India from 1970 to 2010, to understand their current research status. We find that though the total number of patents and publications has been increasing gradually, the contribution of Indian academic institutions in patenting is still low and needs to be incentivized.