Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan urges private sector to invest in research, innovation
Says India has improved its ranking in the Global Innovation Index from 85th to 38th
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday called on the private sector to invest in research and innovation. Inaugurating the IIT Madras Technology Summit 2026, Pradhan said that 70 per cent of research investment in India currently comes from government funding.
"About 70 per cent of research investment in India currently comes from government funding. This is not a healthy sign. We need at least a 50-50 contribution between government and industry," he said.
The minister said the time has come to move beyond measuring progress only through citations and patents. “The real benchmark of a mature innovation system lies in its ability to convert research into deployable products, scalable technologies and meaningful societal solutions,” he said.
He remarked though several successful startups and unicorns have already emerged from IIT campuses, the gap still exists.
“Why are we not innovating enough within our own country? India has immense potential to lead globally, especially through its premier institutions like the IITs. Much of the technology developed by Indian talent abroad is being purchased back by Indian industries from foreign markets. This indicates a need to build and invest in our own products domestically,” the minister said.
Pradhan said the country has expanded from a few hundred start-ups, a few years ago to more than 2.5 lakh today and has improved its ranking in the Global Innovation Index from 85th to 38th.
IIT Madras announced Bodhan AI, a Centre of Excellence for AI in Education. The initiative supported by the Education ministry aims to equip one million teachers with AI capabilities by 2027.
The teachers will learn smart lesson planning, automated assessment, subject specific applications and responsible AI use.
