{"id":326297,"date":"2025-02-10T19:17:05","date_gmt":"2025-02-10T13:47:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=326297"},"modified":"2025-02-11T19:30:43","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T14:00:43","slug":"india-increases-funding-for-research-and-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/india-increases-funding-for-research-and-development\/","title":{"rendered":"India increases funding for research and development"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source<\/strong>: The post India increases funding for research and development<\/strong> has been created, based on the article \u201cA gift horse\u2019s teeth: Higher allocations are not enough to boost scientific research<\/strong>\u201d published in \u201cThe Hindu<\/strong>\u201d on 10th February 2025.<\/p>\n

\"India<\/p>\n

UPSC Syllabus Topic:<\/strong> GS Paper3- Government Budgeting And Science and Technology<\/p>\n

Context<\/strong>: The article discusses India’s 2025-26 budget, which increases funding for research and development. It highlights a \u20b920,000 crore investment in small modular reactors and support for private sector R&D. However, concerns remain about infrastructure, private participation, and effective utilization of funds.<\/p>\n

For detailed information on India\u2019s R&D Funding and Private Sector Role<\/strong> read this article here<\/a><\/p>\n

What Is the New Funding Initiative?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. The 2025-26 budget includes \u20b920,000 crore for developing small modular reactors, with a target of five reactors by 2033.<\/li>\n
  2. A Research, Development, and Innovation fund<\/strong> is introduced within the Department of Science and Technology (DST)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  3. This increases DST\u2019s total budgetary allocation to \u20b9<\/strong>28,000 crore<\/strong>, which is over three times<\/strong> last year\u2019s allocation and seven times<\/strong> the actual expenditure in 2023-24<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    How Will This Impact the Private Sector?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
      \n
    1. The budget aims to boost private sector involvement<\/strong> in R&D<\/strong>, a field largely dominated by government spending.<\/li>\n
    2. Currently, private sector R&D contribution is only 36%<\/strong>, while total R&D spending in India was 0.64% of GDP in 2020<\/strong>, the lowest since 1995<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    3. In the last five years, business enterprises accounted for around 40% of government R&D expenditure<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    4. Public sector R&D units allocated only 0.30% of their sales turnover<\/strong> to research, while the private sector allocated 1.46% in 2020-21<\/strong> (DST estimates).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      What Are the Challenges Mentioned?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
        \n
      1. Despite the increased funding, India lacks key infrastructure<\/strong> needed for research growth.<\/li>\n
      2. The country still does not have essential elements like chipsets, semiconductor fabs, and a strong innovation ecosystem<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
      3. Sectors such as fuel, metallurgy, pharmaceuticals, textiles, IT, and biotechnology<\/strong> have technological strengths, but returns from core R&D and intellectual property generation are still low<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        What Are the Expected Outcomes?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
          \n
        1. The government needs to clearly define how private entities can access funds<\/strong> and outline tangible public benefits<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
        2. Increased funding alone will not ensure success<\/strong> unless structural issues are resolved<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
        3. To make India a global research leader<\/strong>, focus must be on:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n