Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Monday called for making India’s Intellectual Property (IP) approval system among the top five globally in terms of speed, transparency, and efficiency. Addressing the National IP Awards and IP Conference in New Delhi, the minister emphasised that faster processing of applications related to trademarks, patents, copyrights, designs, and Geographical Indications would strengthen India’s innovation ecosystem and help innovators bring ideas to market quickly.

Goyal congratulated the award winners and said the honours recognise the contributions of scientists, innovators, technocrats, entrepreneurs, MSMEs, and academic institutions that are driving India’s innovation-led growth. He stressed the importance of nurturing curiosity and scientific thinking among children and highlighted the government’s plan to establish 50,000 innovation labs in schools to promote creativity and problem-solving.

Highlighting progress in the innovation landscape, the minister noted that India has improved its ranking in the Global Innovation Index from 81st in 2015 to 38th today. Patent filings have also increased by nearly 215 per cent over the last decade, with India’s global ranking rising from 14th to sixth.

Goyal also highlighted growing participation of women in research and innovation and urged innovators to register more products under the Geographical Indications registry. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to supporting startups, women entrepreneurs, and MSMEs by reducing IP-related fees and improving the efficiency of the approval process.