At the Indian Science Congress, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh admitted that countries like China had overtaken India in scientific research. His statement may soon be forgotten or it may lead to intensified effort to step up R&D in India. At the moment, the scene is bleak. Total R&D spend on research and development in the country has been stagnant at 0.9% of GDP. China invests around 1.42 % of GDP in R&D, the US 2.9% which is expected to go up to 3% of GDP. India cannot go ahead without scaling up the share of R&D. True, the Prime Minister has promised to double the percentage share at the end of the 12th plan period. But that by itself will not do wonders. Fundamental supply-side changes to incentivise research are imperative. The special research institutes in India churn out only degree-holders. India published only 2, 33, 027 scientific papers in 2010 while in China the figure was 9,69,315. The appropriate eco-system is necessary to encourage the writing of an adequate number of research papers in India. Universities should enjoy autonomy in hiring staff, preparing programmes of study and allocating funds for research.
The first step should be ending bureaucratic hold in higher education. Red-tape and politics must be eradicated. Attractive remuneration and grants should be offered to research scholars so that autonomous academic bodies can pool the best talent. Close collaboration with industry is another step. Bio-technology, IT, telecommunications and pharmaceuticals should receive due importance. The private sector should set itself long-term goals in promoting research. The P&P model can be a powerful impetus. To be a knowledge economy, India should focus on quality research infrastructure. But with national politics continuing to be in a muddle, will that be a tall order?