India needs to do more to nurture research at home, attract talent back

India sends the most graduate level students to the US, but unlike China, it has been unable to attract them to return home and contribute here

On May 11, India celebrates Technology Day to commemorate the country’s achievement in science and technology, with an aim to inspire young people to pursue careers in the area.

 

The theme for this year is ‘Empowering Indian Youth for Global Leadership in Science and Innovation'. While education and access to quality education will be the bedrock for this, research is emerging as a key component for innovation and leadership.

 

Nations that lead in research and innovation are also the ones that shape global narratives, control critical technologies, and drive economic growth. At the heart of such transformation is a robust culture of research, and one of the strongest indicators of a country’s research intensity is the number of students pursuing PhDs. This is evident in the way the AI race is being fought among countries — the US and China to be specific.

 

If India has to take a meaningful position in the global AI race, it needs to strengthen its research component, which also means that students need to pursue more PhDs, which not only inculcate subject expertise but also develop critical and original thinking.

 

Not just another degree

 

According to Open Doors Report 2024, Indian students, for the first time in 15 years, surpassed all other international students in the US, comprising 29.4 per cent of that cohort.

 

Indian students also dominated in graduate enrolments (Master's and above) in the US for the second consecutive year, with a 19 per cent increase to reach 196,567 students.

 

This is the first time that India overtook China. Where the key difference lies, though, is that China has also managed to attract their students to return to the home country. Over the past 15 years, countries like China have managed to not only make students pursue higher scientific research but also return to their country to contribute meaningfully.

 

According to a paper out of Stanford’s Center On China’s Economy and Institutions titled 'Evaluating the success of China’s "Young Thousand Talents" STEM recruitment Program', the country has managed to dramatically expand its PhD programmes and research output by attracting research students back to the country.

 

The Stanford analysis found that though the YTT programme did not attract top-calibre researchers, it successfully drew in high-calibre researchers. More than half had received PhDs from globally top-100 STEM programs, and these recruits were also highly productive, annually averaging 2.39 publications before returning to China, said the paper. These returnees ranked in the top 15th percentile in terms of productivity.

 

This, in turn, generated a surge of top-tier research in China. According to the findings, YTT scientists produced 27 per cent more publications than their overseas peers after returning. Their performance gain continued to hold when examining only publications in high-impact journals.  

 

The recent success of China in AI, quantum computing, green technology and biotech—can be attributed to this early intervention.

 

The India story lags

 

India is in a unique position. It has two things working for it - the demographic dividend and a strong focus on higher education. However, if India needs to catch up, it must shift its focus to research and help more students pursue PhDs. But low stipends, lack of career opportunities, and lack of funding has forced many students to look to foreign shores for research.

 

While India is showing some progress, a lot more needs to be done. For instance, India continues to maintain its 5th position in global patent filings, with the nation’s patent-to-GDP ratio increasing 2.6 times — from 144 in 2013 to 381 in 2023 — signalling the growing importance of an innovation-led economy, according to a Nasscom report.

 

In FY24, resident resident patent filers accounted for over 55 per cent of total filings, up from 52.3 per cent in FY23, marking a 19 per cent year-on-year increase. Educational institutions and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) emerged as key contributors to this growth, reflecting a more inclusive and maturing patent ecosystem.

 

India is also doing well in AI-focused patents. Between 2010 and 2025, over 86,000 AI-related patents were filed, accounting for more than 25 per cent of all technology patents in the country, suggesting an acceleration in the pace of innovation.

 

But that is only part of the story. The proof of the pudding, as they say, is in the eating, and that is where India is faltering. Despite the impressive volume of innovation, India’s actual AI patent grant ratio stands at just 0.37 per cent — significantly lower than China and the US. While educational institutions are increasingly active in AI patenting, their filing-to-grant ratio remains a miserly just 1 per cent, in stark contrast to the 40 per cent grant ratio observed for corporates. This disparity in patent grants underscores the urgent need to enhance R&D quality, institutional support and focus on building robust, high-quality IP.

 

Academics and industry experts agree that for India to bridge this gap, there has to be strong partnership between industry and educational institutes.  

 

Stacie Sire, vice president, managing director, Boeing India Engineering & Technology Center (BIETC), and chief engineer, Boeing India, agrees on this. “At Boeing, we believe strong industry-academia partnerships are essential to nurturing talent and driving innovation. We work with leading institutes across India to give students hands-on experience, mentorship, and opportunities to apply their skills in real-world settings,” she said.

 

Sire further added that over the years, the company has seen great talent and innovative ideas come from these Indian institutes. “Our programs, like the Boeing University Innovation Leadership Development (BUILD) program and the Boeing Aeromodelling Competition, help us engage early-stage entrepreneurs and university students and spark a spirit of innovation. These collaborations bridge the gap between academia and industry and play a vital role in preparing India’s youth to lead and thrive in a fast-changing world,” Sire told Business Standard.

 

Dr Sudatta Kar, vice president, engineering and R&D (India) at Capgemini, believes entrepreneurship can fuel innovation.

 

“Along with modernising the education system and promoting STEM, integrating entrepreneurship into the education system will further fuel innovation. While R&D investment builds the culture of innovation, further boosting R&D investment and incentivising private sectors to increase R&D spending would help foster a robust innovation ecosystem,” Kar said.

 

She also believes that while the startup ecosystem in India has built its foundation, the focus needs to shift from consumer-centric ventures to deep-tech innovation in areas like AI and quantum computing. “Encouraging international collaborations will bring diverse perspectives and ideas to solve local challenges across sectors through groundbreaking discoveries and solutions,” added Kar.