“India’s Process Reforms – Fixing the Nuts and Bolts” by Sanjeev Sanyal with the Government of India

Summary

This presentation discusses India's patent system reform, emphasizing significant improvements in patent grants from 10,000 annually in 2016 to 50,000 in 2023. Despite these strides, India remains far behind the US and China in terms of patent filings, largely due to manpower shortages. The speaker also critiques mandatory commercial mediation and outdated government bodies, advocating for efficiency reforms. Using business process reengineering concepts, the speaker calls for restructuring, shutting down redundant agencies, and streamlining procedures to enhance governmental performance and encourage innovation.

Takeaways

• 😀 India has made significant progress in increasing its patent grants, going from fewer than 10,000 patents in 2016 to about 50,000 in 2023, but still lags behind the US and China.
• 😀 Despite the growth in patent grants, India faces a bottleneck in the patent process, particularly at the controller level, due to insufficient manpower in the patent office.
• 😀 The US and China issue patents at a much larger scale than India, with the US granting approximately 325,000 patents and China issuing over 800,000 patents annually.
• 😀 Efforts to improve India's patent system were driven by Mr. Amitabh Kant's leadership, including reforms to ease patent processing and improve efficiency.
• 😀 India's patent office has increased its workforce from 300 to 900 patent officers, but still faces a significant manpower gap compared to other countries like China and the US.
• 😀 The mandatory mediation process for commercial disputes in India is criticized for being ineffective, with a 99% failure rate in Mumbai courts, resulting in unnecessary delays and costs.
• 😀 The speaker suggests making mediation voluntary rather than mandatory to allow the process to prove its value without forcing parties into lengthy and unproductive procedures.
• 😀 The government should consider shutting down outdated and redundant agencies that no longer serve their original purpose, citing the example of the Tariff Commission.
• 😀 Many government agencies in India, like the Tariff Commission, continue to exist despite having no real function, and shutting them down could free up resources and improve efficiency.
• 😀 The speaker advocates for a broad reform of government processes, drawing parallels to business process outsourcing and re-engineering, which could apply to governments globally, not just in India.

Q & A

What was the state of India's patent office in 2016?

In 2016, India's patent office was granting fewer than 10,000 patents annually, despite receiving around 45,000 filings. This was significantly lower compared to other countries like the US and China, which were granting hundreds of thousands of patents each year.

How did the patent system improve after Mr. Amitabh Kant's intervention?

Mr. Amitabh Kant played a key role in improving India's patent system by addressing backlog issues and easing the process. As a result, the number of patents granted annually increased from under 10,000 in 2016 to 34,000 in 2022 and around 50,000 in 2023.

What challenges does India still face with its patent system despite improvements?

Despite improvements, India continues to face challenges due to insufficient manpower in the patent office. With only 900 patent office personnel, the number of patent examiners is far lower compared to countries like China (13,000) and the US (8,000).

Why does the speaker criticize the mandatory mediation for commercial disputes introduced by the government?

The speaker criticizes the mandatory mediation for commercial disputes because it has been largely ineffective, with 99% of cases failing. It leads to unnecessary delays, additional costs for lawyers and mediators, and does not result in resolutions, making it an inefficient process.

What reform does the speaker propose regarding mandatory mediation?

The speaker proposes making mediation voluntary instead of mandatory. This would allow the process to prove its value and effectiveness, ensuring that it is only utilized when it works, rather than imposing it on all parties.

What is the speaker's view on the existence of outdated government agencies in India?

The speaker argues that many government agencies and autonomous bodies in India have outlived their usefulness and should be shut down. He points out that these bodies often continue to exist despite having no clear mandate or function.

Can you give an example of an outdated government body discussed in the transcript?

An example is the Tariff Commission, which was initially created to set prices in a socialist economy. After market reforms in 1991, the body had no real function, yet it continued to operate under a different name until 2022 when it was finally shut down.

What is the issue with government agencies like the Tariff Commission according to the speaker?

The issue is that these agencies continue to exist and consume resources without performing any meaningful work. For example, the Tariff Commission produced reports that were never read or acted upon by the relevant authorities, resulting in wasted resources and inefficiency.

How many autonomous bodies does the Indian government have, and what is the issue with them?

The Indian government has around 850 autonomous bodies. Many of these bodies have no current purpose but continue to operate due to bureaucratic inertia, contributing to inefficiency and wasting public resources.

What broader message is the speaker conveying about government reforms?

The speaker advocates for comprehensive reforms to improve government efficiency by eliminating redundant agencies, optimizing processes like mediation, and addressing issues like manpower shortages in important sectors such as patent processing. These reforms are necessary not only in India but can be applied to governments globally.