Weighing in on the National Research Foundation Bill

Source: The post is based on the article “Weighing in on the National Research Foundation Bill” published in The Hindu on 28^th July 2023.

Syllabus: GS 3 – Science and Technology

Relevance: concerns with National Research Foundation

News: The Union Cabinet has recently approved the National Research Foundation (NRF) Bill 2023.

What is NRF?

Read Here: What is the National Research Foundation?

The Kasturirangan Committee in 2019 gave the proposal of creating the NRF as an independent foundation and the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) adopted it.

What are the concerns with NRF?

Low Funding: The Kasturirangan Committee proposed that the NRF should receive an annual grant of Rs. 20,000 Crores (0.1% of GDP).

However, as per the available information, the NRF is expected to receive ₹10,000 crore for five years, totaling ₹50,000 crore.

Out of which, a maximum of ₹14,000 crore is to be provided as a government grant or budgetary support, with the remaining ₹36,000 crore expected to come from industry and private philanthropic sources.

This means that NRF would receive a maximum annual funding of 2,800 crore for the following five years, which is only 14% of the amount the Kasturirangan Committee had suggested.

Subsuming Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB): The SERB was set up as a statutory body within the DST. Its objective was strategically planning, promoting, and financially supporting internationally competitive research in emerging fields of science and engineering.

It has played a crucial role in developing a sustainable research ecosystem and its budgetary allocation has substantially increased over the years.

However, since it is being subsumed with NRF, there are concerns over whether NRF would get the additional SERB’s financial allocation, or it will be removed.

Read More: Proposed National Research Foundation looks to tap CSR to address funding concerns  and India’s National Research Foundation (NRF): Needs, significance and challenges

What can be the way ahead?

The New Education Policy places a strong emphasis on the necessity of a vibrant research environment in tackling global issues and utilizing technological advancements.

Therefore, a significant financial support is needed for India to become a leader in this sector, ideally in line with the recommendations of the Kasturirangan Committee.