{"id":78959,"date":"2026-07-11T17:52:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T12:22:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=78959"},"modified":"2026-07-11T17:53:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T12:23:02","slug":"world-intangible-investment-report-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/11-07-2026\/world-intangible-investment-report-2026","title":{"rendered":"World Intangible Investment Report 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus:GS3\/Economy\/Science and Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In News<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The World Intangible Investment Report 2026, launched by World Intellectual Property Organization and Luiss Business School, reaffirms India\u2019s emergence as a global innovation powerhouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><strong>Intangible assets&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>They are non-tangible assets like organisational know-how, research and development (R&amp;D), software, databases, brands, design and intellectual property (IP).\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Unlike physical assets like factories and machinery, their value is in knowledge and innovation.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>An electric car\u2019s value, for example, is mostly in its battery technology, software and brand, whereas AI models are almost entirely dependent on research, data and software.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>World Intangible Investment Highlights (WIIH) 2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It\u00a0 is a joint publication of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Luiss Business School (LBS).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It covers 29 economies accounting for around 57% of global GDP in nominal terms and about 45% on a purchasing power parity basis.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The largest investors in absolute terms are the United States, Japan and Germany, whereas the most intensive investors are Sweden, the US and France.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u00a0India, Japan and the Philippines saw the strongest growth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The 2026 edition also underscores the strategic importance of brands and looks at how the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and intangible investments is changing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Major Findings&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Intangible Investment Surpassing Tangible Investment :\u00a0 <\/strong>Intangible investment continues to outstrip tangible investment (e.g. buildings and machinery) by a wide margin.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Intangible investment in 29 economies exceeds USD 10 trillion in 2025.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>From 2008 to 2025, intangible investment grew at an annual rate of 3.5%, more than three times faster than tangible investment (0.98%).\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Country Patterns :\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>In Japan, Canada, Germany<\/strong>: Investment in intangibles continued to increase while investment in tangibles stagnated or declined, mirroring a structural shift toward knowledge assets.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In the US, France, UK: <\/strong>Intangible investment grew consistently faster than tangible investment, although both grew.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Both India and the Philippines<\/strong> recorded fast growth in both tangible and intangible investments, with infrastructure investment still growing faster.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Brazil was the exception where intangible investment increased and tangible investment decreased.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fastest-growing category <\/strong>\u00a0:Globally, software and databases were the fastest-growing category of intangible assets during 2013-23, up 7.3%, followed by organizational capital at 4.9% and brands at 4.4%.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to reinforce the trend by increasing investment in software, data, organisational capital and research.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Share in GDP<\/strong>\u00a0 : Since 1995, the share of intangible investment in GDP has increased in all economies, and at the aggregate level, it now exceeds that of tangible investment (12.8% vs. 11.8% of GDP in 2025).\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sweden is the leader in the most intangible-intensive economy, followed by the United States and France.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India\u2019s formal-sector intangible investment was 10% of GDP (2023) and on a steady climb, though tangible investment (19.3% of GDP) is still higher as infrastructure development continues.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India Specific Data&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India emerged as the world&#8217;s fastest-growing major economy in investment in knowledge-based assets in 2022-23, with spending on software, research, brands and other intangible assets rising 7.9%<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India recorded the highest year-on-year growth in intangible investment among the 15 largest economies covered, ahead of Japan (4.8%), the Philippines (4.6%) and the US (4.4%) during 2022-23.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India remains a tangible asset-intensive economy, but its investment in knowledge-based assets is rising rapidly alongside traditional capital expenditure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India&#8217;s gross capital formation rose from 32% of GDP in 2021 to 33% in 2023<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In absolute terms, India&#8217;s intangible investment was at $78 billion in 2023, exceeding that of several European economies, including Denmark, the Czech Republic and Finland, the report said.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India&#8217;s investment profile is dominated by software and databases, which accounted for nearly 45% of the country&#8217;s total intangible investment in 2023, the highest share among all economies covered in the report.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0Organizational capital comprised 21.8%, R&amp;D 12.7%, brands 9.3%, and design 11% of India&#8217;s total intangible investment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India&#8217;s software and databases have expanded at a compound annual growth rate of 8.2% between 2013 and 2023<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India also ranked among the faster-growing economies in investment in brands. Brand investment expanded at a CAGR of 7.2% between 2013 and 2023, placing India behind Luxembourg, Lithuania and Denmark but ahead of several advanced economies.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Importance of Intangible Investment<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Driving Productivity &amp; Innovation<\/strong> : Intangibles like custom software, artificial intelligence algorithms, and organisational workflows are scalable in ways that physical machinery are not.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>They allow firms to produce more output with the same physical infrastructure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Moving Up the Value Chain: <\/strong>To go beyond being an outsourcing hub for low-cost labour, India is investing in intellectual property (IP), R&amp;D and original design to develop high-value products and proprietary technologies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Powering the Digital &amp; AI Economy:<\/strong> Data, databases and digital platforms are completely intangible. They are crucial to India\u2019s booming fintech, e-commerce, SaaS sectors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Building Brand Equity<\/strong>: In today\u2019s AI-generated noise-filled global marketplace, strong corporate brands and trademarks build consumer trust and ensure long-term customer loyalty.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Intangibles Powering Job Creation<\/strong>: High-skilled, high-paying jobs in tech, design and research<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Undercounting &amp; Measurement Errors.<\/strong> Older accounting frameworks (e.g., national statistics and balance sheets) measure investments in R&amp;D or employee upskilling as \u201cexpenses\u201d rather than \u201ccapital assets.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u00a0That obscures the real economic value being created.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Concentrated Asset Distribution:<\/strong> The intangible boom in India is heavily skewed towards software and IT services.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Low Gross Domestic Expenditure on R&amp;D<\/strong> :\u00a0 India\u2019s total spending on R&amp;D is low relative to GDP as compared with developed economies like the US<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Difficulty of Valuation and Financing<\/strong>: In the past, banks and other financial institutions have demanded physical collateral &#8211; land, machinery and other assets &#8211; before they will lend money.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In India, debt financing against intangible assets such as patents or software code remains a very complex and risky exercise.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cyber &amp; IP Vulnerabilities: <\/strong>Non-physical assets are extremely vulnerable to cyber-attacks, data breaches and theft of intellectual property, requiring robust cyber-defences that many MSMEs lack.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Steps Taken by India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI): <\/strong>The remarkable success of India Stack (UPI, Aadhaar, ONDC, Account Aggregator) has created a vast, open-source, intangible foundation for businesses to develop software and databases.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Research Foundation (Anusandhan NRF):<\/strong> To channelise structured funding to academic and private research, strengthening India\u2019s R&amp;D ecosystem.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Intellectual Property Reforms: <\/strong>The Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (CGPDTM) has been modernised with a drastic reduction in patent processing times.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Startup India &amp; PLI Schemes: <\/strong>The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, with its emphasis on manufacturing, demands technological localisation and design, compelling companies to make large investments in domestic organisational know-how and IP.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence<\/strong>&#8211; Focus on building indigenous AI datasets, compute capacity and algorithmic research to capture the AI boom.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What more needs to be done?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Revise Accounting &amp; Statistical Standards: <\/strong>Align national accounting standards to modern standards to explicitly recognise intangibles as Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF).\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This will provide policymakers a realistic picture of the drivers of the economy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Encourage IP-backed Financing<\/strong>: RBI and SEBI to set up regulatory mechanisms and standard valuation guidelines to allow financial institutions to take patents, copyrights and software safely as collateral for business loans.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Expand the scope of investment to diversify the intangible portfolios beyond software services to deep-tech R&amp;D, biotech, creative designs and building global brands<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Enhance cybersecurity legislation:<\/strong> The DPDP (Digital Personal Data Protection) framework is now implemented.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The next step is to enhance the corporate data governance and cybersecurity infrastructure to safeguard proprietary digital resources.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Industry-Academia Collaboration<\/strong>: Close the gap between research at the university and commercial usage, making sure academic R&amp;D easily translates into marketable intellectual property<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Source :<a href=\"https:\/\/newsonair.gov.in\/wipo-report-reaffirms-indias-emergence-as-a-global-innovation-powerhouse\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Air<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong><br \/>\nIn News<\/p>\n<p><\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\n<p>The World Intangible Investment Report 2026, launched by World Intellectual Property Organization and Luiss Business School, reaffirms India\u2019s emergence as a global innovation powerhouse.\n<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nIntangible assets<\/p>\n<p><\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"\t>\n<p>They are non-tangible assets like organisational know-how, research and development (R&#038;D), software, databases, brands, design and intellectual property (IP).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\n<p>Unlike physical assets like factories and machinery, their value is in knowledge and innovation.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/11-07-2026\/world-intangible-investment-report-2026 \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78959"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78961,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78959\/revisions\/78961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}