India’s research and development spending rose to 0.83 percent of GDP in 2021-22, marking the first time the country exceeded the 0.8 percent mark since 2009-10, based on recently released government figures.
The data also show a notable change in the innovation sector, with private companies responsible for 45.5 percent of total R&D outlays in 2021-22 and increasing to 51.8 percent in 2023-24. This represents the initial occasion when businesses contributed more than all government levels combined.
The Department of Science and Technology provided these details in reply to a parliamentary query on July 29, 2026. They form part of the Research & Development Statistics 2025-26, though the complete report remains unpublished.
The statistics matter because India maintains one of the largest scientific workforces and ranks high in publications yet has consistently devoted a smaller economic portion to research than leading nations. The R&D share of GDP declined yearly until hitting a low of 0.64 percent in 2020-21.
In that period, China allocated 2.4 percent, Japan 3.3 percent, South Korea 4.8 percent, the United States 3.5 percent, and Israel about 5 percent. Prior administrations noted that India’s innovation system faced limits as industry covered a smaller research share than in advanced economies, where businesses typically fund over 70 percent.
The department gathers official statistics via its National Science and Technology Management Information System, which has run surveys since 1973 following UNESCO and OECD standards. These collect spending information from government bodies, universities, public enterprises, and private firms. The 2022-23 survey expanded coverage to multinational companies and firms outside the recognized scheme. There were 2,397 recognized in-house R&D centers by December 2022.
Before the recent parliamentary response, the latest public report from 2023 covered data only through 2020-21. The reply thus offers the first official numbers for 2021-22 through 2023-24, even as full reports await release.
The updated figures indicate a sharp shift. Total R&D spending dropped from 1.33 lakh crore rupees in 2019-20 to 1.27 lakh crore in 2020-21 amid the pandemic, then rose 53 percent to 1.95 lakh crore in 2021-22. It later reached 2.13 lakh crore in 2022-23 and 2.45 lakh crore in 2023-24.
Budget records from those years show only modest growth in central science funding, suggesting the increase did not stem solely from public sources.
The rise aligned with greater private sector involvement. Industry’s share stood at 38.5 percent in 2017-18, 37.7 percent in 2018-19, 33.8 percent in 2019-20, and 36.4 percent in 2020-21, before climbing to 45.5 percent in 2021-22, 48 percent in 2022-23, and 51.8 percent in 2023-24. In absolute terms, industry spending grew from roughly 43,800 crore rupees in 2017-18 to 88,600 crore in 2021-22 and further to 126,800 crore in 2023-24.
