R&D needs greater patronage in India
By conferring the Bharat Ratna on Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao, the Government of India has not only honoured one of India's best-known scientists but also acknowledged the many contributions of the scientific community at large. The symbolic gesture has put the much-needed spotlight on the many ills that plague scientific pursuit in this country. Mr Rao himself has brought up a host of these issues — from the paucity of funds for research to the death-like grip of the scientific bureaucracy to the overall lack of scientific temper. Amidst all this, his description of politicians as “idiots” has expectedly grabbed headlines, especially since, in his position as the Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India, he works alongside many politicians.The issues Mr Rao raised have been flagged before, repeatedly, by several others, but it is hoped that recent developments (the Bharat Ratna comes on the heels of the inauguration of India's Mars mission and only months after the country launched its first indigenously built aircraft carrier warship) will add a sense of urgency to the matter.
lack of funding is by far the biggest impediment to the pursuit of science in this country, as Mr Rao has mentioned. It translates into poor remuneration for scientists and inadequate scientific infrastructure, making it tremendously difficult to carry out cutting-edge research within India. Consequently, the best of our scientists move to foreign shores where the overall environment (salaries, research grants, lab facilities, clearances etc) is more conducive. In the US, for instance, there are 4,651 researchers per 1,000,000 population; India has just 140. This is not surprising given that India currently spends a mere 0.9 per cent of its GDP on research and development. Interestingly, the 12th Five Year Plan aims to push that figure up to two per cent of the GDP by the time its tenure ends in 2017. This is touted as an ambitious hike that could put India somewhat on par with China, which plans to spend about 2.5 per cent of its GDP on scientific research by 2020. But the hope is unlikely to materialise — especially if the last two Budgets are any indication. Given the recent economic downturn, primarily a product of the incumbent regime's policy paralysis and across-the-board misgovernance, budgetary allocations for scientific research for departments and ministries have been dealt a body blow. In times of high inflation, overall research spending for 2013-2014 has been increased by a paltry four per cent on the 2012-2013 figure — which itself stood slashed by about 30 per cent.
Equally disappointing, the budget cuts have come against the backdrop of increased spending in the recent past. Though India's science spending remains tiny, it had seen a definite growth in the post-liberalisation era with the Government establishing new scientific institutions and universities, while existing ones expanded significantly. Even the 12th Five Year plan science allocation is nearly three times more than in the 11th Plan. That’s still very low. The infusion of fresh funds may have helped breathe life into R&D activities, but that will not be enough to sustain any meaningful momentum.