Date: 04/02/2023

Relevance: GS-3: Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources; Government Budgeting; Science and Technology- Developments and their Applications and Effects in Everyday Life.

Key Phrases: Union Budget, Fiscal Policy, Research and Development, Science and Technology, Artificial intelligence, New and Emerging Technology, National Research Foundation, Deep Ocean Mission, Developing Nations and Advanced Economies.

Context:

• The Centre has earmarked Rs 16,361 crore for the Union Ministry of Science and Technology, making up only 0.36 per cent of the overall Union Budget 2022-23.

Key Highlights:

• There is a slight jump in funding allocation for the Ministry of Science and Technology.
  • Considering the inflation, the allocation is not enough for research and development.
• The Union Budget 2023-2034 has set aside Rs 2,000 crore for National Research Foundation (NRF).
  • The revised 2022-2023 allocation for NRF was Rs 0.01 crore or Rs 1 lakh only.

Stats: India’s funding for R&D

• The Ministry of Science & Technology has been allocated ₹16,361 crore this year (15% increase from the previous estimate).
  • The bulk of the hike has gone to the Department of Science and Technology (DST) which is ₹7,931.05 crore.
  • It was ₹2,683.86 crore for the Department of Biotechnology, and ₹5,746.51 crore for the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR).
  • The Deep Ocean mission and the National Research Foundation have got substantially higher hikes than in previous years, a sign that they are the Centre’s immediate focus.

Concerns with the Research & Development in India:

• Less attention for Basic Research
  • There were multiple references in the Budget speech for investing in dedicated centers for excellence in ‘Artificial intelligence’ research, initiatives to scale up technology to produce laboratory-made diamonds and a center for research in sickle cell anemia.
    • While all of these efforts could be spread out across multiple arms of government, none of the budgetary allocations suggests a significant scale up of basic research.
    • Unless there is funding for basic science, technology cannot flourish.
• Low Allocation for Research and Development
  • In general, developed and technologically advanced countries spend over 2% of their GDP on Research and Development.
  • According to the World Bank, the allocation pales in comparison with Korea’s 4.8 per cent of GDP in science and technology.
  • The United States and China spend 3.45 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.
    • But India continues to hover around 0.7% (As per the Global Innovation Index 2022) despite being among the world’s largest producers of scientific literature.
  • Therefore, as with previous governments, this government too has not succeeded in increasing the percentage of spend on research and development beyond 1% of GDP.
• Limited Absorptive Capacity of Scientific Institutions
  • While funds are not the only challenge to research and development in India, the lack of significant raises across departments shows that the absorptive capacity of scientific institutions in the country is limited.
• Unnecessary delay
  • A major challenge continues to be research scholars not getting promised funds on time and the wait for the quality equipment required by researchers, continuing to be mired in a maze of bureaucratic whimsy.
• Lack of Interest in Research and Development
  • Less than 0.5 per cent of Indian students pursue PhD or equivalent level of education, according to the All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) report.
    • Currently, the number of researchers (per lakh population) in the country is way behind China, US, as well as much smaller nations including Israel.

Way Forward:

• India has achieved several milestones in science and technology, including space and defense.
  • However, experts believe that the budget allocation for science is not enough.
• The bulk of research continues to be funded by the government and the participation of the private sector has grown only incrementally.
  • Therefore, efforts for the participation of the private sector should be encouraged.
• The government must increase the size of the funding pie as well as ease the procedures to make the most efficient use of it.

Conclusion:

• A significant portion of the funds should be allocated for research and the establishment of scientific infrastructure.

Source: TheHindu

Mains Question:

Q. What are the major concerns with respect to the research and development in India. Also, suggest measures to address these issues. (150 Words)