Individuals and academic institutions dominate Ayush patent filings, but industry converts more filings into grants. What does this say about India's innovation ecosystem, and what reforms are needed?

The CGPDTM's Status Report on Ayush Related Inventions (2014–2026) records 4,077 filings but only 711 grants. Natural persons and educational institutions account for 76.3% of filings [1]. Most filings come from one group and most grants from another. This shows an ecosystem with plenty of ideas but too little capacity to turn them into protected, marketable inventions.

What the pattern reveals

• Grassroots creativity: individuals filed 2,113 applications (51.9%), so innovation is widely spread [1].
• Academic quantity over quality: educational institutions convert only ~9% of filings (88/995). Corporates convert ~25% (176/700) [1]. Many academic filings may aim at institutional credit rather than commercial novelty.
• Weak drafting and novelty: Section 3(p), Patents Act bars patents on traditional knowledge (TK) and on mere aggregation of known traditional properties [2]. Claims that restate classical formulations fail this test.
• Thin commercialisation bridge: startups (125) and small entities (144) file only a small share [1]. This points to weak incubation and technology transfer.
• Caveat on pendency: 70% of filings came after FY 2020–21 [1]. Many applications are probably still pending, not rejected.
• Counts ≠ products: the report does not track licensing or clinical validation [1].

Reforms needed

• Transparency: the CGPDTM should publish pendency and grant rates by applicant category alongside the status report [1].
• University IP cells: universities need trained patent drafters, and the CGPDTM's Ayush examination guidelines should be part of researcher training [3].
• Prior-art literacy: use the Cabinet-approved paid TKDL access for users beyond patent offices [5]. Researchers can then check novelty before filing, as 18 foreign patent offices already do during examination [4].
• Industry–academia linkage: set up technology-transfer offices, licensing-linked incentives and Ayush-focused incubators.
• Benefit-sharing: source disclosures already go to the National Biodiversity Authority [2]. Reporting which patents led to benefit-sharing agreements would answer the charge that TK is being privatised.
• Demand creation: follow the National Ayush Mission review's recommendation to bring private insurers into Ayush cover [6], so that patented products find buyers.

The patent data shows Ayush innovation spreading widely, but conversion and commercialisation are still weak. Better drafting skills, smarter prior-art use and stronger industry links can turn filings into products. Done fairly for the communities that hold TK, this advances SDG 3, the National Ayush Mission's goals and India's leadership in traditional medicine.