Question

Article on advancement of science in India.

Answer 1

Science in India is on the move in a big way. The government has initiated multibillion dollar investments to kick start research, education, and innovation over the next five years. Though several challenging issues remain for the country, India’s best and brightest expats living in the United States and Europe are being enticed back to ‘Mother India’ with the promise of world-class research infrastructure and solid funding. 

In early 2013, India’s government announced an ambitious science, technology, and innovation funding protocol: in the next five years, double its investment in science and technology and, by 2020, drive India’s output of scientific publications to be among the top five nations globally. “The government is going to inject $5 billion into science and technology over the next five years,” says C.N.R. Rao, the founder of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) and chairman of the Science Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. “This doubles the investment to-date from 1% to 2% of GDP.”  This increase in funding is aimed at creating jobs, educating technical leaders, and improving the quality of science in this country of 1.2 billion people, he notes.

The announcement is just one of a recent number of nationwide initiatives that have been inaugurated as India seeks to improve its global scientific reputation. The creation of new institutions and universities, opportunities for independent leadership training, and efforts to expand translational research and cultivate a culture of technology transfer are just a few of the federal components encouraging young researchers to set up shop in their homeland. In addition, international alliances, between India and organizations in the United States, United Kingdom, and other countries, are also making an impact in bolstering collaboration across borders and building strong scientific capacity within the subcontinent.


But despite these outreach and funding programs, there are still some challenges that need to be addressed before scientists in India can stand shoulder to shoulder with their counterparts in the West. Recent infrastructure investment programs have successfully produced new facilities and institutions all over India, but this has created a shortage of scientists and experts to run and manage the new universities and research institutes. Specifically, according to university administrators, India needs an estimated 40,000 qualified scientists to fill positions currently vacant. However, there is insufficient talent within India to take up this slack, which is being compounded by current labor laws that can sometimes make hiring foreign nationals a complex and difficult process. (Autonomous institutions have provisions for hiring foreigners, albeit on a non-permanent basis.) Nonetheless, both theoretical and translational research in India is moving forward with areas such as nanotechnology, energy, and health at the forefront.

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