India has undertaken many regulatory and legislative reforms to promote innovation and patent protection by universities and academic institutions. To achieve this broader policy objective, it is crucial to identify factors and motivations that drive academic researchers to file patent applications. We provide an empirical estimation of the extent to which patenting by academic institutions in India is affected by factors like institutional policy frameworks, departmental differences, and individual researchers’ characteristics. Using the Heckprobit estimation method and zero-inflated binary outcome techniques, we find that the absence of supportive institutional infrastructure, coupled with making patents a mandatory criterion for career advancement, results in low patent application probability and intensity.