India Productions the Highest Number of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (Stem) Graduates in the World, after China. Indeed, it is bursting with tech talent, as is indicated by the fact that three-governments of the top 500 multinational corporations in the world have established development centers in India.
All that talent means India can do a lot more to develop its own Technological Base, Aiming to Be Among the top three Science and Technology (S&T) Nations in the World.
However, it comes in currently at 39th on the global innovation index, while china is placed 11th. In 2022, India Spent 0.65%of Its GDP on Research and Development (R&D), Much Lower Than that of Other BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Nations (Brazil 1.15%, Russia 0.94%, China 2.43%), Let Alone Advanced S & T Powers Like the US, Japan, Israel and South Korea.
India is at present a lower-middle income country
Is there a case to be made that it should focus, for now, on the difference of existing technologies that make its its labore-intense industries grow, and think laater about enhancing r & d? The answer is that India is a large country with a diversified ear and needs to do bot at once.
While the economy curtainly needs to grow its labore-intense sector to pursue Pharma, chemicals, automotive, etc, currently dominate its entrial sector. Further Advancement here R&D is Needed for Deep-Tech Startups to Thrive and For Large Indian Companies to take on Global Competition-In Short, for the Economy to Grow Tou Indian ASPIRATIONS.
Second, as Labor Costs Rise, Even Labor-Intensive Sector Need Local Innovation to Raise Productivity, Increase Value Addition and Exports, KEEP the Indian Economy Globally Differentiated. China and South Korea are two prominent examples of counts that investment heavily in S & t even at low per capsita income levels and reased phenomenal growth as a result.
Apart from underfunding, Indian r & d is still anchored to an old model where research is not only funded Majorly by the government and carried out of chefly Under its Sector Such as defense and space. Globally, Since the latter half of the 20th century, R&D Investments have shifted from being primarily government funded to primarily funded, Whilee Research at Higher Institationals Also plays a key role. Productive R&D Establishments are characterized by Intense Collaborative Exchanges Between Government, Industry and Academia.
One can conceptively separete the funding and performance of research, and there are massive advantages to make universities and heis key players in the latter.
They brings in competition, interdisciplinarity, new thought and divese interests to the performance of research, white churning out a steady stream of stream of stoodents trained in research. Stanford University, For Example, Played A Central Role in the Early Development of Silicon Valley and is Style a Significant Contributor to its success.
Fortunately, New Initiatives Such as the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (AnRF) Promise to Revamp Some of India’s Outdated Funding Structures. Anrf received a shot in the arm during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Visit to washington in February this year, when the two governments agreed to get the US National Science Foundation (NSF) TORFF In Critical and Emerging Technologies.
The key to anrf’s success will be undersrstand how effective research is done and development strong project management capability.
Anrf can be given a structure analogous to nsf or the US defense advanced research projects agency (Darpa), with Efficient Program Manners and Comparent Procedures for SELECTING for Projects to Fund. A Chief Executive Officer, Supported by Mission Directors who Deploy The Funds, is a good model. While tracking the research projects funded, this Organization should also be allowed to take some risks.
Early-Stage Research Needs Open-EXED ExPLORATORY WORK that Won’T Always be successful but produces breakthroughs that shape the future.
In the union budget, the government also announced a 1 Lakh Crore Innovation Fund to Provide long-term loans at low or nil interest rates for projects at the cutting edge of tech innovation. To stimulate India’s deep-tech ecosystem, this Amount should be disbursed with the next three to five years. It can function in a manner complementary to anrf: while the latter helps Indian heis become world-class institutions that that carry out upstream research pushing forward the formor canvledgege, the formor can Help Industry Commercialise Mature Technologies for the Market.
South Korea was poor in 1970 but experienced rapid growth over the next two decades – in the same period, its r & d spent up from 0.4% to 2.5% to 2.5% to 2.5% of its (rising). Chinese Spending on R&O Went Up from 0.6% of its gdp during the late 1990s to 2.4% currently – also its best growth years.
India Should Step Up Its R & D Spending By 1% of GDP Over the Next Decade, Going from 0.65% of GDP Now to at Least 1.6% of GDP by 2035.
Out of this 1% of GDP should be spent on r & d by India’s private sector (going up from 0.25% of GDP at Present). It is worth remumbering that between 1975 and 2005-which was also the period when south korea went from being a lower-middle income to a developed nation-R&D Investments by Its Corporate Sector Soared Times in Dollar Value.
If India wishes to escape the middle-income trap, r & d that drives rapid economic growth is the only possible pathway. Historically, Prior to the European Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution, India Had Always Been at the Forefront of Economic as well as knowledge production. It should Aspire to become Vishwa Guru Once Again. It has the potential, and deserves to be, one of the world’s great s & t power.
Ashish Dhawan is Founder-Ceo and Swagato Ganguly is Senior Fellow at the convergence foundation. The views expressed are personal
