Why in the News
For the first time, private industry has overtaken the government as the largest source of Research and Development (R&D) spending in India, marking a significant shift in the country’s innovation ecosystem. However, India’s overall R&D investment remains low compared to major economies.
What does the R&D data show?
- Private sector leads: Private industry contributed 51.8% of India’s total R&D expenditure in 2023 to 2024.
- Low R&D intensity: India’s Gross Expenditure on R&D (GERD) is only 0.84% of GDP.
- Global comparison: China: 2.58%, United States: 3.45%, South Korea: 4.94%
- Limited research workforce: India has only 354 researchers per million population, much lower than leading innovation economies.
Why should R&D focus on manufacturing?
- Higher value addition: Promotes movement from low-end assembly to high-technology manufacturing.
- Import substitution: Reduces dependence on imported technologies and critical components.
- Employment generation: Encourages advanced manufacturing, creating skilled jobs and strengthening industrial competitiveness.
- Global competitiveness: Supports initiatives such as Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat.
What institutional support exists?
Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF)
- Established under: ANRF Act, 2023.
- Corpus: ₹50,000 crore over five years.
- Objective: Promote research, innovation and collaboration among academia, industry and government.
- Key role:
- Mobilise private sector investment in research.
- Coordinate research funding across institutions.
- Strengthen India’s innovation ecosystem.
Prelims Pointers
- GERD (Gross Expenditure on Research and Development): Total national expenditure on R&D as a percentage of GDP.
- Private industry is now India’s largest R&D spender.
- ANRF replaced the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) as the apex research funding body.
- India spends less than 1% of GDP on R&D.
[2015] Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding National Innovation Foundation-India (NIF)?
1. NIF is an autonomous body of the Department of Science and Technology under the Central Government
2.NIF is an initiative to strengthen the highly advanced scientific research in India’s premier scientific institutions in collaboration with highly advanced foreign scientific institutions.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
[A] 1 only
[B] 2 only
[C] Both 1 and 2
[D] Neither 1 nor 2