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Per DST's Research & Development Statistics 2025-26, India's Gross Expenditure on R&D (GERD) rose from ₹1,32,567 crore in 2019-20 to ₹2,44,767.81 crore in 2023-24, and GERD as a share of GDP rose from 0.66% to 0.84% over the same period.
Private-sector R&D spend nearly tripled in the period (₹44,753.54 crore to ₹1,26,906.60 crore) and, for the first time in the data shown, edged past government-sector R&D spend (₹1,26,906.60 crore vs ₹1,17,861.21 crore) in 2023-24.
India's Global Innovation Index (GII) rank, assessed by NITI Aayog, improved from 46th (2021) to 38th (2025); India ranks as the top performer in Central & South Asia and among lower-middle-income countries.
Apex body funding and coordinating research across science, technology and innovation, absorbing the erstwhile SERB
Assesses and reports India's Global Innovation Index performance
GERD is the total spending on research and development within a country, combining Government Sector spend (central/state government institutions, PSUs, public higher-education institutions) and Private Sector spend (private industry, Scientific and Industrial Research Organisations, private higher-education institutions). India's GERD-to-GDP ratio (0.84% in 2023-24) remains well below the global average (~2.5%) and China's (~2.4%), a recurring UPSC comparison point.
Simple Analogy: GERD is a national report card on how much a country reinvests in discovering and building new things, measured against the size of its economy
GS Paper 3 > Science & Technology > R&D Policy; Economy > Growth & Innovation
High — R&D expenditure/GII data recurs in every Economic Survey and Science Ministry review
Gross Expenditure on Research and Development — total government + private R&D spend in a country
Research, Development and Innovation Fund — ₹1 lakh crore corpus to catalyse private-sector-led strategic research