The number of patent applications being filed from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana is slowly increasing, but there is still a lot to be done to develop a culture of innovation in the two Telugu-speaking States, National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) Chairman and Managing Director H. Purushotham said.
On the sidelines of a programme on Intellectual Property Rights protection held here recently, Mr. Purushotham said while 900 to 1,000 patent applications were being received from Telangana in a year, the number ranged between 300 and 400 for A.P. He predicted a bright future for Andhra Pradesh in the future with Visakhapatnam being made the Executive capital of the State.
“Telangana has the advantage of being home to several R&D labs. Visakhapatnam, being a cosmopolitan city with a robust industrial base, also has a bright future,” Mr. Purushotham said.
‘Lack of awareness’
Stating that there is a lack of awareness in the country to file patents, he said in a vast country like India, only around 50,000 patents were being filed in a year, of which almost 80% are filed by multinational corporations. India has a huge market for exclusive rights, Mr. Purushotham said.
In India, the highest number of patents numbering 3,000 to 4,000 are being filed from Maharashtra and Karnataka in a year. In comparison, China files 15 lakh patents a year while the 7.75 lakh patents are filed in the United States a year.
India ranks 52 on the global innovation index, and is expected to improve its ranking this year, Mr. Purushotham said.
He said that identification of problems with a viable solution is key to a successful startup, and called for developing an ideal ecosystem to encourage the out-of-the box ideas and innovation culture among the students in the State.