India@100: World’s innovation capital

 We need to create research mindset among students in schools & colleges. We need to create an environment that can aid in producing subject matter experts who are equipped with multidisciplinary skill

Published: 19th August 2022 07:33 AM  |   Last Updated: 19th August 2022 07:33 AM

By G Krishna Kumar

In his Independence Day address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for India to become a leader in Innovation. His “Jai Anusandhan” (Hail Innovation) slogan is timely. 

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India significantly lags behind the world’s top economies in Innovation/Inventions and Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)—including patents, trademarks, trade secrets and copyrights. While India’s ranking in the Global Innovation Index has improved significantly from 81 in 2015–16 to 46 in 2021, it is a long road ahead for India to dominate in innovation.

A recent report analysing data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggests that India pays a huge amount of money to foreign entities (for using the latter’s IPRs), compared to what India earns for IPRs held in India. For example: In 2021, India paid $8.6 billion and earned just $800 million. Back in 1981, the out-go was $15.1 million and earning was $0.11 million.

As India aims to be one of the top three economies in the world, we must have a multi-pronged approach to strengthen our position in Innovation and IPRs. Let us look at how India can improve its innovation and invention capabilities through patents. 

For the uninitiated, a patent is defined by WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) as an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process that provides, in general, a new way of doing something or offers a new technical solution to a problem. Patents are territorial rights—this means that the patents are to be filed in each country where the inventor seeks patent protection. World bodies (like the Paris Convention and Patent Cooperation Treaty, etc.) assist inventors in filing patents in other countries. 

The Indian patent system dates way back to the 1856 Act on the protection of inventions. It has undergone several modifications and enhancements post-independence and more so since 1999.

Over the past decade, the government’s ‘Make in India’, ‘Start-up India’, ‘Digital India’, ‘Atal Innovation Mission’, ‘Skill India’ and the ‘NIPAM’ (National IP Awareness Mission) have certainly helped in spurring innovation in the country. To encourage startups to file more patents, the government provides incentives—startups recognised under the Startup India programme get up to 80% rebate on patent filings.

There are several examples of Indians driving innovation. For example, a Maharashtra-based company has a patented tamper-proof painting technology that can be applied on uneven and rough surfaces. This technology would have global demand. 

Patent filing has significantly increased over the past decade. For example, 58,502 patents were filed in 2020–21, compared to 39,400 patents filed in 2010–11. Nearly 28,391 patents were granted in India in 2020–21 compared to 7,509 in 2010–11. 

However, when we look at the global scenario, 5.3 lakh patents were granted in China, while 3.52 lakh were granted in the USA, 1.7 lakh were granted in Japan, and South Korea granted 1.35 lakh patents. We are significantly lagging behind these leading economies. The main issue is India’s low Research and Development spending of 0.7% of GDP. In comparison, the USA spends 3%, Israel spends 4.5% and even China spends 2.6% of GDP. 

It is heartening to see the share of Indian residents in total applications has increased to 40% in 2020–21 from 20% in 2010–11. It is encouraging to see academic institutions filing over 2,500 patents during the last year, spread across Information Technology, Biotechnology, Ayurveda and Basic Sciences. 

India fares poorly on time taken for patent granting. The time taken in India is about 42 months. This has dropped significantly from 64 months in 2017. However, this is way below the global benchmark. USA, China, South Korea and Japan take about 15–20 months to grant patents. 

The delays can be attributed to the number of patent examiners in India. India has 615 examiners compared to 8,132 in the USA and 13,704 in China. The whole process of patenting involves three critical aspects—the inventors, the patent agents and the examiners granting the patents. 

Firstly, we need to create a research mindset among the students in schools and colleges. We need to create an environment that can aid in producing subject matter experts who are equipped with multidisciplinary skills. 

The NEP 2020’s vision for encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation can help if implemented effectively through strong feedback and a continuous improvement mechanism. Much more awareness must be created among the students and the youth in the country. The NEP’s focus on building multidisciplinary skills can encourage students to think about research and innovation instead of just focusing on standard jobs. 

The inventors approach patent agents for filing. The patent agents need to pass the patent agent examination conducted by the Indian government to qualify for patent filing. 

Reports suggest that India has about 4,000 registered patent agents. In contrast, the USA has about 50,000 agents. The number of patent filings per agent is about 14 in India compared to about 7 in the USA. We need to increase the number of patent agents significantly. This can be done by increasing awareness about the role of patent agents. These patent agents must hold a degree in Science and Technology to appear for the patent agent exam. Here again, multi skilled personnel will have a great opportunity to excel. 

Finally, India is lagging significantly behind its global peers with regard to the ratio of patent examiners to the patents filed. Government initiatives to increase the intake will certainly help in reducing the gap. Regular awareness campaigns and celebration of success stories will motivate professionals to become patent agents or patent examiners. India should learn from the European Patent Office’s (EPO) strategy to attract talent as patent examiners. 

Overall, we have an excellent opportunity for the innovation-led ecosystem to work together and enable an efficient patent management system in the country. Such actions would ensure India can produce some of the best-patented inventions in the world before we celebrate India@100. 

Bengaluru-based ICT professional and columnist

5G will transform the telecom landscape, but India will have to wait

 Globally, 5G subscribers were expected to touch 1.3 billion by Dec 2022

G Krishna Kumar, AUG 07 2022, 21:36 ISTUPDATED: AUG 08 2022, 01:17 IST

The much-touted 5G auction has concluded and the Centre is set to garner over 1.5 lakh crore. This auction was estimated to fetch over 4.3 lakh crore, however, just before the auction, the government reduced the expectation to Rs 80,000-90,000 crore. Very high base price meant that 29 per cent of the spectrum remained unsold. As in the past, the government will conduct follow-up auctions for the unsold spectrum; hopefully, at an attractive base price. 

India’s mobile telecom journey has been quite unprecedented. From the first mobile phone call back in July 1995 to the expected 5G launch, we have seen several transformations. From exorbitant call charges to ‘paisafication’ of tariff; from 12 mobile service providers to just 4 and from being a predominantly 2G (voice) market to becoming among the highest per-capita data consumers, India has come a long way. 
The introduction of 5G is expected to further transform India’s digital footprint. Considering that 5G data speeds will be 5 to 10 times faster than 4G, users can expect amazing experiences. But there are several challenges to be addressed. Before we delve into them, a quick look at the global scenario for 5G.

Global 5G uptake
Globally, 5G subscribers were expected to touch 1.3 billion by Dec 2022. However, the revised forecasts indicate that the number could be short by 300 million. This is still a significant achievement considering that it took 12 years for achieving the one billion user milestone for 3G, 4 years for 4G and it would be just about 3.5 years for 5G. If not for the Covid-19 impact, 5G uptake could have been much faster.
A recent report states that 70 countries had 5G networks as of June 2022, up from just 38 just two years back. South Korea was the first country to deploy 5G services back in 2018. By 2025, 60 per cent of South Korea’s mobile subscribers are expected to be using 5G.
5G uptake in the EU has been sluggish. A recent European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO) report states that Europe accounts for only 2.8 per cent of the total mobile connections although 62 per cent of the population has access to 5G. In the US, 13.4 per cent are using 5G. Even Thailand has had a sluggish 5G uptake.
Another report states that the US and China lead on the number of cities with 5G coverage, with 356 and 296 cities, respectively. The Philippines with 98 cities and South Korea with 85 are the countries in Asia among the top 10 countries.   
While 5G involves significant expenditure from the telcos, an Ericsson report states that 5G ARPU (average revenue per user) can gain 34 per cent by 2030 if the telcos offer differentiated services to the consumers.

Poor mobile experience
Indians will lap up 5G connectivity if the telcos retain the tariff. India’s data tariff is amongst the lowest in the world. Price per GB (gigabyte) in India is at $0.17 per GB, while it costs between $3.85-$5.95 in Japan, the US and Canada. No wonder the ARPU of the Indian telcos is under Rs 150. The global average is between Rs 700-Rs 1000. Perhaps, low ARPU is a key reason for the poor quality we experience while using our phones.

Dropped calls continue to haunt the Indian subscribers. Government had planned to penalise telcos with poor call quality, call drops etc. No action was taken and telcos have got away with no accountability for providing poor quality of service.
Many of the challenges we face with connections (especially indoors) would continue even with 5G. The main reason is that the high frequency spectrum, also called millimetre wave (26GHz), is capable of carrying a significant amount of data, but constrained with coverage distance.
On the other hand, the efficiency is much better in the sub-GHz band (600-900MHz). But exorbitant prices meant that the telcos did not bid aggressively in the lower frequency band.    
In India, 4G picked up significantly as people were able to enjoy live-streaming videos, news etc. The speeds are good enough for the current set of applications as 5G specific applications are largely absent. Subscribers may not pay higher tariff for 5G if the quality is largely 4G-like. 
With 5G limited to a few patches, it is highly likely that users will be pushed back to 4G where 5G connectivity is absent (even 2G if 4G coverage is poor). In addition, availability of affordable handsets will be a deterrent for major uptake in 5G. Presently, less than 10 per cent of the smartphones in India support 5G. 
A very strong fibre-optic backhaul network is required for 5G, but only 30 per cent of the mobile towers have fibre-optic connectivity. This needs to be increased to 80 per cent for a seamless 5G experience (Just as an example, South Korea has over 70 per cent fibre-optic coverage).
Sample this: India’s fibre kilometre per-capita is 0.09 compared to 1.35 in Japan and the US and 0.87 in China. Fibre-optic connectivity must be ramped up on a war footing for India to realise its 5G dreams.

Enterprise segment
The Centre’s plan for pricing the spectrum for captive non-public network (CNPN) is awaited. Most enterprises in India will be eager to get on the 5G bandwagon. Also, considering the challenges in 5G deployment for retail mobile users and the fact that enterprises are still major contributors to telcos’ revenue, it is likely that the telcos would prioritise enterprise segment for faster 5G adoption.  
Summarising, for Indians to enjoy a true 5G experience, it will certainly take a few more years. Till that time, we should be happy with occasional 5G and mostly 4G.
(The writer is a columnist and ICT professional based in Bengaluru.)