R&D Spend High, Patent Output Low; State Lagging, Says Study

Reveals disproportionate allocation; calls for enhancing industrial and environmental share

- M S VIDYANANDAN @T'Puram

KERALA Government's substantial investment in research and development (R&D) is not translating to intellectual property outputs. Though the state allocates 0.30% of its GSDP to research, higher than the interstate average of 0.24%, it generates only 0.14 patent applications per ₹1 crore of research expenditure, ranking 13th among 14 major Indian states, according to a research paper in the latest edition of "Kerala Economy" from the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation.

Since 2023-24, Kerala government has been bringing out an exclusive R&D Budget, along with the annual budget, to accelerate the state's transition into a knowledge-based economy. But it has not made a significant impact on patent generation, showed the paper "Evidence-based financial for Kerala's Knowledge Economy: Patent metrics for policy reform" authored by Rajesh Many, assistant professor, School of Gandhian Thought and Development Studies, and founding director of Centre for Technology and Human Development Studies, Mahatma Gandhi University. The state so far generated only 850 patents with 'first applicants' from Kerala.