Out of 73 industrial firms, there are 59 Indian private industries, nine MNCs and five public-sector undertakings (PSUs). Pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms are predominantly involved in patenting activity. Among 73 industrial firms, there are 23 firms in the “pharmaceutical” and/or “biotechnology” sector. Only seven universities in India are involved in patenting activity during the period, 1990-2002. Even institutions of excellence like IITs were not granted any patenting activity. Further, major scientific agencies such as the ICAR and the DAE had no patents granted during this period.

Further, patenting activity across organisations in India exhibits a skewed pattern. Fifty organisations possess only one patent, and fifteen organisations possess only two patents for the overall period, 1990-2002. This indicates that for a considerably large number of organisations in India, patenting in the US is only a one-time activity. Only eight organisations in India have more than ten patents during the entire period. These eight organisations account for 522 patents (80 per cent) of the total number of patents granted. These organisations classified as prolific organisations comprise four from industry, two research institutes and one public-sector undertaking. Even within these eight organisations, the patenting activity is skewed that can be judged by the fact that the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) accounts for 378 patents.

he broader classification of research institutions under scientific agencies highlights the stark contrasts. Among scientific agencies, except for the CSIR with 378 patents, the other scientific agencies have a limited role in the patenting activity in the USPTO. Table 4 presents the patenting activity by different scientific agencies. Patents shown by the DBT and the DST are also likely to have originated from research organisations that are affiliated to them.