Editorial: Nurturing research

The proposed National Research Foundation is welcome but the challenge lies in making it truly autonomous

Encouragement of critical thinking and innovative ideas forms a key component of public policy on the development of science and technology. It is unfortunate that despite being endowed with immense talent and human resources, India lags behind the developed countries in pioneering innovations of global impact. Poor spending on Research and Development (R&D) has been the bane of Indian science. The highly bureaucratised and patronage-driven science administration is another limiting factor. Against this rather depressing backdrop, the union cabinet’s recent decision to set up a National Research Foundation (NRF) and allocate Rs 50,000 crore for the apex body to “seed, grow and promote” research and development is welcome. The initiative may well be a game changer in fostering a culture of scientific research. The NRF is expected to play a pivotal role in nurturing and promoting research, innovation and development across universities, colleges, research institutions, industry and R&D laboratories. It will create an interface mechanism so that, in addition to the scientific and line ministries, the State governments and industries can also participate and contribute to scientific R&D. The challenge lies in making the institution truly autonomous, bringing the private sector on board and ensuring smooth flow of funds. At present, the absence of a congenial and collaborative ecosystem is forcing scientists to work in silos, unable to meet the changing needs of the people and the industry. As a result, the research output of only a few select institutes matches up to global standards. This needs to be corrected if the country wants to make a major mark at the global level.

The NRF is modelled on the National Science Foundation in the US which has been a research enabler in diverse areas and intends to forge collaboration between the industry, academia, government departments and research institutions. Such partnerships have resulted in some ground-breaking developments in the global knowledge economy. In India, however, scientists in even the top institutes face bureaucratic hurdles in raising funds. The NRF would, hopefully, help catalyse change. Poor performance in experimental sciences in India is attributed mainly to the lack of significant collaborative efforts and sustained long-term funding. On key parameters like the expenditure on science as a percentage of GDP, the number of PhDs produced annually or citations to papers from India in scientific literature, the country’s performance has been far from inspiring. India spends less than 1% of its GDP on research, compared with over 2% by China. With a large youth population and a strong diaspora that is more affluent and accomplished, the country has great potential in pioneering high-tech innovation. Overhaul of the science education and research system, elimination of bureaucracy, structural changes for better administration and creation of a large number of centres of excellence around outstanding individuals would go a long way in harnessing the true potential.

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