Boosting India’s R&D Ecosystem – Believers IAS Academy

Boosting India’s R&D Ecosystem

Introduction

India presently ranks thirty ninth on the World Innovation Index 2024 which reveals the underlying structural weaknesses in its analysis and improvement (R&D) ecosystem. In the meantime, India stands as second-largest producer of STEM graduates highlighting its potential to grow to be a worldwide innovation hub.

Dimensions of the Article:

• Present State of India’s R&D Ecosystem
• Challenges in India’s R&D Ecosystem
• Authorities Initiatives

Present State of India’s R&D Ecosystem

• India’s spending on R&D stays critically low at 0.65% of GDP (2022), far behind world leaders akin to China (2.43%), South Korea (4.93%), and Israel (5.56%).
• Superior economies have constantly demonstrated that greater R&D funding correlates with stronger financial development and technological competitiveness.
• For instance, South Korea elevated its R&D spending from 0.4% (1970) to 2.5% (1990), driving its transition from a growing to a developed financial system.
• Equally, China’s rise from 0.6% (Nineties) to 2.4% in the present day has fuelled its technological dominance.
• In distinction, India’s R&D ecosystem stays government-driven, with 36.4% of funding coming from the non-public sector in 2020–21.
• Key industrial sectors akin to prescription drugs, chemical substances, and automotive require deeper technological capabilities to compete with world gamers.
• Moreover, deep-tech sectors like quantum computing, biotechnology, and nanotechnology stay underfunded.

Challenges in India’s R&D Ecosystem

• Low Personal Sector Participation: The Indian authorities stays the first driver of R&D, whereas the non-public sector lags in funding. This reduces the velocity of technological innovation and commercialisation.
• Weak Business-Academia Hyperlink: Not like fashions like Stanford’s position in Silicon Valley, Indian universities and industries typically function in isolation, limiting the scope for collaborative innovation.
• Bureaucratic Hurdles: Analysis performed by key authorities companies like DRDO, ISRO, and BARC typically fails to translate into business merchandise attributable to procedural delays and administrative crimson tape.
• Restricted Diversification: India’s R&D focus stays skewed in the direction of defence and house, with restricted funding in industrial R&D and consumer-focused expertise.
• Danger Aversion: Indian industries favor importing expertise over investing in high-risk, early-stage analysis, which restricts long-term innovation potential.

Authorities Initiatives

The federal government has launched a number of schemes to deal with these gaps:

• Vigyan Dhara Scheme – Helps analysis and technological improvement.
• Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar (RVP) – Acknowledges scientific contributions.
• Science, Expertise, and Innovation Coverage 2020 – Goals to create a extra inclusive and dynamic R&D ecosystem.
• Anusandhan Nationwide Analysis Basis (ANRF) – Allotted ₹1 lakh crore within the 2025–26 Union Finances to help deep-tech and progressive analysis.

Method Ahead

• Improve R&D Spending: India should goal spending over 2% of GDP on R&D within the subsequent decade, with better non-public sector participation.
• Strengthen Business-Academia Hyperlink: Universities ought to play a extra lively position in upstream analysis, whereas industries ought to deal with changing analysis into business merchandise.
• Streamline Undertaking Administration: ANRF ought to undertake the DARPA mannequin with clear objectives, clear funding, and outcome-based analysis.
• Promote Danger-Taking: Early-stage analysis requires flexibility and risk-taking to drive innovation breakthroughs.