Date: 30/09/2022

Relevance: GS-3: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, biotechnology

Key Phrases: Gross Expenditure On Research And Development, Amritgrand Challenge Programme, Indian Space Association, National Research Foundation, Prime Minister Fellowship Scheme, Scientific Exchange Programmes With Global Partners, Quad Fellowship Programme

Context:

• To be a global leader, India must channel its growing economic strength into a vital yet perennially neglected pillar of national power i.e., science and technology.

Key Highlights:

• The efforts to support scientific innovation are invariably lacking in India.
• According to the World Bank, India’s research and development (R&D) expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018 was 0.66 percent of its GDP as compared to 2.14 percent in China and 3 percent in the United States.
• In the past 20 years, Chinese spending on research has skyrocketed in line with its economic growth, while Indian spending has declined as the broader economy has grown.

Need for Scientific and technological progress:

• Scientific and technological progress is the most crucial driver of long-term development and India has the potential to become a scientific power.
• The development of an indigenous COVID-19 vaccine is just one of many signs of this potential.
• India can benefit from not only geopolitical trends as supply chains diversify away from China, but also scientific trends as emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, and renewable energy mature at breakneck speed.
• Science, today, is at a stage of compounding innovation where advances in one field spur advance in others.
• Google’s AlphaFold AI model designed to study proteins is one such example.
• In just one year, AlphaFold has predicted structures for nearly all proteins known to science and has already become an indispensable tool for biotechnology researchers.
• Such disruptive discoveries are increasingly common on the frontier of science, and India must take advantage of these to jump start its scientific ambitions.

Some of the recent initiatives taken by the Government of India:

• The Women Science program of DST has started a new initiative to support women PG colleges under the CURIE (Consolidation of University Research for Innovation and Excellence in Women Universities) Programme.
• Synergistic Training Program Utilizing the Scientific and Technological Infrastructure (STUTI), a new initiative, was recently unveiled with the goal of enhancing human resource development and capacity building through nationwide open access to science and technology infrastructure.
• In October 2021, the government announced plans to establish 75 science technology & innovation hubs in India for scheduled castes (SCs) and scheduled tribes (STs) and empower them to contribute to the socio-economic improvement of the country.
• The government has launched the Indian Space Association (ISpA) to accelerate technology advancements and strengthen the space sector in the country.
• India and Denmark agreed to a five-year plan to implement a green strategic partnership for enhancing collaboration in various areas including science and technology.
• AmritGrand Challenge Programme called ‘JANCARE’was launched to identify 75 start-ups in several sectors such as telemedicine, digital health with Big Data, AI, blockchain and other technologies.

What should be done to boost the scientific innovation ecosystem in India?

1. Boosting gross expenditure on research and development (GERD):
   • India must start by increasing its GERD to 1 percent of GDP.
   • It is vital that GERD increase at least in line with India’s economy.
2. National Research Foundation (NRF):
   • The 2020 New Education Policy recommended setting up the National Research Foundation (NRF) to fund large-scale research projects in universities with Rs 50,000 crore over five years.
   • India should implement the recommendation and this could be modelled on the US’s National Science Foundation, which has played a key role in transforming America’s universities into research powerhouses.
3. Incentivising R&D spending in the private sector:
   • While initially, most research spending must come from the Centre, the long-term target must be to incentivise R&D spending in the private sector.
   • The 2021 Economic Survey pointed out, in scientifically dominant countries like the US and China more than 80 percent of GERD spending is from the private sector, which explains breakthroughs like Google’s AlphaFold.
   • By contrast, the Indian private sector contributes only 37 percent of research funding.
   • In this respect, the NRF’s goal of increasing links between academia and industry will be invaluable.
4. Cultivation of human capital:
   • At its heart, science needs human talent, and India’s science strategy must be keenly focused on cultivating human capital.
   • A significant share of any increased spending must be used to augment PhD and postdoctoral stipends to attract the best students to basic research.
   • Initiatives such as the Prime Minister Fellowship Scheme for Doctoral Research are a great start, but they must be expanded.
5. Scientific exchange programmes with global partners:
   • India should encourage scientific exchange programmes with developed countries like the US.
   • The Quad Fellowship programme which funds 100 students from all four Quad countries to pursue graduate degrees in science and technology in American universities is a good initiative but is too small in scope.
   • India must consider other talent exchange programmes with its partners whose awards should be conditioned on public service obligation.
   • This could be on the lines of Singapore’s Presidential Scholarships, with the aim of bringing students back to India after graduation to develop an indigenous research ecosystem.
   • An example of such an obligation could be doing a few years of research at a national lab after graduation.
6. Lessons from China in becoming a scientific power:
   • One idea worth examining is China’s Thousand Talents Plan which brings leading Chinese scientists living abroad to China through incentives like high salaries, extra research funding, and other perks like accommodation subsidies.
   • India should consider such a scheme with its own considerable diaspora to bring back talent which, in turn, can train the next generation of Indian scientists.

Conclusion:

• For India to become a developed country by its centenary, it needs not just ‘made in India’ but also ‘invented in India’.
• Today’s unique combination of economic growth, geopolitical opportunity, and scientific innovation are perfect to kickstart India’s push to become a research powerhouse.
• Making this commitment to innovation today is one of the most consequential decisions which can be taken toward India’s future prosperity.

Source: ORF-Online

Mains Question:

Q. To be a global leader, India must channel its growing economic strength into a vital yet perennially neglected pillar of national power i.e., science and technology, and today’s unique combination of economic growth, geopolitical opportunity, and scientific innovation is perfect to kickstart India’s push to become a research powerhouse. Discuss (250 words).