Improving India’s scientific capabilities

Making India a top destination for science and technology will require getting the basics right

Livemint
Updated13 Jan 2017, 04:07 AM IST
Illustration: Jayachandran/Mint
Illustration: Jayachandran/Mint

Prime minister Narendra Modi’s pledge to place India among the top three countries in the world in the field of science and technology (S&T) by 2030—announced at the Indian Science Congress in Tirupati earlier this month and reiterated at the Nobel prize exhibition in Ahmedabad this week—is a fine sentiment. But it is also a grandiose one. Getting even part-way there is going to take some doing. India performs below its potential on just about every indicator of scientific progress and achievement there is: be it the amount of public and private funding earmarked for research, the number of prestigious awards won by Indian scientists working in Indian institutions, the number of patents registered in the names of Indians or the number of articles published in well-known peer-reviewed journals.

India has a long civilizational history of scientific achievement. But today the list of Indian scientists who have won the world’s most prestigious award, the Nobel, begins and ends with C.V. Raman. The longer list of Indian-origin and Indian-born winners has 16 mentions—but that also only highlights the large-scale systemic failures that extend across institutions and manifest at all levels.

Only time will tell if the Modi government will be able to put in motion the revamp he has spoken of. But for now, there are early indicators that give us some idea of the government’s plans and priorities.

First is the government’s focus on improving science education at the school level: In Ahmedabad, Modi spoke of scientists helping develop course modules while in Tirupati, he mentioned scientific social responsibility wherein premier laboratories and research institutions could partner with nearby schools and colleges to create an environment that supports scientific education and innovation. This is well and good. But these are in the nature of vague, broad ideas, when what is needed is foundational work on the overall education system.

A human resource and development ministry report tabled in Parliament last month noted that as many as a million teaching positions in government schools across the country are lying vacant; successive status of education reports by the non-profit Pratham have highlighted how educational outcomes among Indian school students are falling at an alarming rate.

The situation in institutions of higher education is hardly any better. Elite institutions such as the IITs are the exception, and they too struggle to compete globally. In the QS World University Rankings 2016-17, only two Indian institutions ranked among the top 200 universities in the world: Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (rank 152) and Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (rank 185). Research institutions also suffer from government interference and lack of funding which, among other problems, makes them unattractive to rising talent that prefers greener pastures abroad.

The second issue that the government is focusing on is strengthening the links between S&T and industry. If done right, this could potentially bring in the resources necessary to boost Indian science. Currently, much of the funding comes from the government while private-sector investment (in the form of research and development centres, for example) is below par. Overall, despite talk since the late 1980s of increasing S&T investments from the public and private sector to 2% of GDP (gross domestic product), the figure still hovers at around 0.9%. In comparison, South Korea leads the race, investing 3% of its GDP in S&T, while Japan follows close behind.

Another example is tiny Israel, which has not only nurtured a flourishing S&T ecosystem but leveraged its security challenges to build a robust defence industry. In India, it will be interesting to see if the Modi government’s flagship scheme to boost domestic manufacturing and its consequent efforts to woo foreign capital (specifically in defence) can do something similar.

Against this backdrop, it was perhaps in the fitness of things that the Nobel exhibition, which brought nine Nobel laureates on one platform in Ahmedabad, was organized in association with an investment summit to underline how science, technology and innovation hold the key to enterprise and entrepreneurship. The event is part of the larger Nobel Prize Series—and can be seen as part of the government’s larger effort to make science more glamorous. But talk is cheap. If there is to be real progress, it will need unglamorous, ground-level work. Fetishizing the Nobel as an end in itself—as Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu did last week when he announced Rs100 crore in prize money for anyone from his state who wins the prize—will not be enough.

Do you think India can become a science and technology powerhouse in the near future? Tell us at views@livemint.com

Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.

MoreLess
First Published:13 Jan 2017, 04:07 AM IST
Business NewsOpinionImproving India’s scientific capabilities

Get Instant Loan up to ₹10 Lakh!

  • Employment Type

    Most Active Stocks

    NTPC share price

    392.45
    03:59 PM | 11 NOV 2024
    -5.25 (-1.32%)

    Tata Motors share price

    804.75
    03:59 PM | 11 NOV 2024
    -0.95 (-0.12%)

    ICICI Bank share price

    1,269.15
    03:58 PM | 11 NOV 2024
    9.8 (0.78%)

    Tata Steel share price

    144.95
    03:42 PM | 11 NOV 2024
    -2.6 (-1.76%)
    More Active Stocks

    Market Snapshot

    • Top Gainers
    • Top Losers
    • 52 Week High

    Wipro share price

    572.25
    03:59 PM | 11 NOV 2024
    3.4 (0.6%)

    Federal Bank share price

    207.75
    03:51 PM | 11 NOV 2024
    1 (0.48%)

    Indian Hotels Company share price

    729.45
    03:59 PM | 11 NOV 2024
    -3.6 (-0.49%)

    Page Industries share price

    47,349.95
    03:29 PM | 11 NOV 2024
    -637.85 (-1.33%)
    More from 52 Week High

    Asian Paints share price

    2,542.65
    03:44 PM | 11 NOV 2024
    -226.6 (-8.18%)

    CE Info Systems share price

    1,890.15
    03:53 PM | 11 NOV 2024
    -165.65 (-8.06%)

    UPL share price

    515.10
    03:47 PM | 11 NOV 2024
    -42.5 (-7.62%)

    Aarti Industries share price

    439.55
    03:58 PM | 11 NOV 2024
    -35.2 (-7.41%)
    More from Top Losers

    Biocon share price

    348.85
    03:58 PM | 11 NOV 2024
    27.6 (8.59%)

    Borosil Renewables share price

    503.10
    03:40 PM | 11 NOV 2024
    37.5 (8.05%)

    ITI share price

    327.40
    03:59 PM | 11 NOV 2024
    23.8 (7.84%)

    Power Finance Corp share price

    481.60
    03:58 PM | 11 NOV 2024
    32.15 (7.15%)
    More from Top Gainers

    Recommended For You

      More Recommendations

      Gold Prices

      • 24K
      • 22K
      Bangalore
      78,775.00-600.00
      Chennai
      78,781.00-600.00
      Delhi
      78,933.00-600.00
      Kolkata
      78,785.00-600.00

      Fuel Price

      • Petrol
      • Diesel
      Bangalore
      102.92/L0.00
      Chennai
      100.80/L0.00
      Kolkata
      104.95/L0.00
      New Delhi
      94.77/L0.00

      Popular in Opinion

        HomeMarketsPremiumInstant LoanMint Shorts