UPSC CSE MAINS SYLLABUS- GS – 3- Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
Research and Development India
- India has long had a reputation about its ability to thrive on innovative solutions which get around the rules.
- For India to evolve into a self-reliant economy, the importance of investment in research and development (R&D) is critical in this new decade.
R&D scenario:
- Despite all efforts, the gross domestic expenditure on R&D as a fraction of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has declined from 0.8% in 2010 to 0.6% in 2018. It has been hovering around this level for more than two decades.
- This pales in comparison to R&D investment in developed countries such as Japan (3.2%), Germany (3.0%), the United States (2.8%) and developing ones such as South Korea (4.8%) and China (2.2%) in 2018.
- Most R&D expenditure in India comes from the government.
- A higher expenditure on R&D usually correlates with high technology exports.
- India’s share in high technology exports stands at 9.1%, while for China and South Korea, it is 31.4% and 36.3% respectively.
- To move up the manufacturing value chain and enhance competitiveness, there is a need to increase R&D expenditure in sectors which are import-dependent.
Way forward:
- Though hundreds of international companies having set up R&D shops, utilising the talent pool at lower cost, Indian corporates have failed to keep pace.
- The heightened need for R&D creates opportunities for financing its expansion. This will not only lead to augmenting exports but also reduce the country’s dependence on R&D-related product imports — something which can make the trade deficit more manageable.
- In fact, according to the government’s Invest India report, each $1 million invested in R&D in India per year by multinational corporations (MNCs) is likely to generate a demand for around eight to ten researchers.
- In this context, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the government may possibly consider setting up a credit facility solely for investments in R&D in industries in which India requires import substitution.
- The initiative would provide lending at rates lower than the prevailing repo rate, for 10 to 12 years, to finance investments that create technological and production capacity in R&D-intensive sectors.
Source:” Financial Express ”.
POSSIBLE UPSC MAINS QUESTION:
Assess the research and development scenario in India. What needs to be done to promote R&D?
