Transport, pharma and biotech as industry become India’s biggest research investors
A new government report indicates that private industry now accounts for over half of India's research and development spending, with transportation, pharmaceuticals, and biotech leading the investment. This shift marks the first time corporate R&D expenditure has surpassed government funding in the country.
Why it matters
The transition highlights a structural change in India's innovation economy, moving toward private-sector-led technological development.
India’s private-sector research effort is now being driven overwhelmingly by the transportation, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and information technology industries, with transport companies emerging as the country’s largest corporate R&D investors, according to the Department of Science and Technology’s (DST) Research and Development Statistics 2025-26 .
The report also shows that industry now employs more researchers than the public sector in core R&D activities, underscoring a broader shift in the country’s innovation landscape.
The report follows a disclosure by the DST in the Lok Sabha last week that showed India’s spending on research and development (R&D) surged to 0.83% of GDP in 2021-22, the first time that the country crossed the 0.8% threshold since 2009-10. The report estimates that India’s R&D expenditure will approach 0.9% of GDP in 2025-26.
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