{"id":16236,"date":"2025-02-22T07:50:25","date_gmt":"2025-02-22T07:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/?p=16236"},"modified":"2025-09-04T12:00:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T12:00:20","slug":"status-of-research-and-development-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/status-of-research-and-development-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Status of Research and Development in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Given the rate of growth in investments, it would be safe to state that <strong>R&amp;D in India <\/strong>is severely underdeveloped, at about 0.6% of GDP when compared with the largest R&amp;D economies worldwide. A good R&amp;D would foster innovation and economic growth; the best R&amp;D would attempt to resolve an urgent societal problem. Hence, this article studies in detail the present scenario of R&amp;D in India, its challenges, and the possible strategies to address these challenges.<\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_56_1 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-transparent ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/status-of-research-and-development-in-india\/#About_Status_of_R_D_in_India\" title=\"About Status of R&amp;D in India\">About Status of R&amp;D in India<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/status-of-research-and-development-in-india\/#Encourage_Investigator-Led_Research\" title=\"Encourage Investigator-Led Research\">Encourage Investigator-Led Research<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/status-of-research-and-development-in-india\/#Increase_Funding_for_Research\" title=\"Increase Funding for Research\">Increase Funding for Research<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/status-of-research-and-development-in-india\/#Link_National_Labs_to_Universities_and_Create_New_Knowledge_Eco-Systems\" title=\"Link National Labs to Universities and Create New Knowledge Eco-Systems\">Link National Labs to Universities and Create New Knowledge Eco-Systems<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/status-of-research-and-development-in-india\/#Mission_Driven_Approach_to_R_D\" title=\"Mission Driven Approach to R&amp;D\">Mission Driven Approach to R&amp;D<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/status-of-research-and-development-in-india\/#Greater_Public_Engagement_of_Science_and_Research_Establishments\" title=\"Greater Public Engagement of Science and Research Establishments\">Greater Public Engagement of Science and Research Establishments<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/status-of-research-and-development-in-india\/#Conclusion\" title=\"Conclusion\">Conclusion<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/status-of-research-and-development-in-india\/#FAQs_Research_and_Development_in_India\" title=\"FAQs: Research and Development in India\">FAQs: Research and Development in India<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3'><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/status-of-research-and-development-in-india\/#What_percentage_of_GDP_is_R_D_in_India\" title=\"What percentage of GDP is R&amp;D in India?\">What percentage of GDP is R&amp;D in India?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/status-of-research-and-development-in-india\/#Why_is_R_D_low_in_India\" title=\"Why is R&amp;D low in India?\">Why is R&amp;D low in India?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/status-of-research-and-development-in-india\/#Is_R_D_a_good_career_in_India\" title=\"Is R&amp;D a good career in India?\">Is R&amp;D a good career in India?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/status-of-research-and-development-in-india\/#What_is_the_budget_of_India_R_D_in_2024\" title=\"What is the budget of India R&amp;D in 2024?\">What is the budget of India R&amp;D in 2024?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"About_Status_of_R_D_in_India\"><\/span>About Status of R&amp;D in India<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India&#8217;s expenditure on science and technology was measured by GERD and while it had tripled in ten years, the <strong>ratio stayed between just 0.6 and 0.7 per cent of the GDP<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India&#8217;s investment in R&amp;D, about 0.6 per cent of GDP, is far below other major countries such as <strong>USA with 2.8 per cent, China with 2.1 percent, Israel with 4.3 per cent, and Korea with 4.2 per cent<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Survey noted that in East Asian countries-and China, Japan, and Korea are those-big increases in R&amp;D as a proportion of GDP have occurred as these countries got richer. India, by contrast, has experience only a very weak increase.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>At its present rate,<strong> India will very weakly hit the 1 per cent GERD-to-GDP like rich countries<\/strong> usually do.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The country really needs to put some efforts into building the science and research scenario. Private sector investment in R&amp;D has remained far behind public investment in the country.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In most countries, the bulk of R&amp;D is undertaken by the private sector. However, in India, the government is not only the prime source of funding for R&amp;D but also one of the main users of funds provided for the same.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Encourage_Investigator-Led_Research\"><\/span>Encourage Investigator-Led Research<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India must slowly shift towards more support of investigator-driven research.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Further steps into this direction were made in 2008 when the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/serb-schemes\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/serb-schemes\/\"><strong>Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB)<\/strong><\/a>, a statutory body of DST, was brought into existence,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and since then, <strong>it has supported almost three-and-a-half thousand new research and development projects <\/strong>among individual scientists.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is but a promising start that needs to be expanded with more funds and innovative management mechanisms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Increase_Funding_for_Research\"><\/span>Increase Funding for Research<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The private sector must be incentivized to both do more <strong>R&amp;D-Scientific research in India <\/strong>and also sponsor STEM research through CSR funds.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The existing tax regime does promote R&amp;D investments through the CSR route. However, this can be further expanded as to the kinds of R&amp;D activities allowed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The government could provide opportunities yet with private sector interests to develop new routes for R&amp;D funds.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>An initiative such as the 50:50 sharing with SERB of the cost of industry-oriented research under the Ucchatar Avishkar Yojana (UAY) serves as a useful example.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>State governments must recognize that they should invest in application research that is targeted at problems common to their economies and populations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>That would strengthen state universities, while also providing desperately needed knowledge about crops, ecology, and species particular to a state.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Link_National_Labs_to_Universities_and_Create_New_Knowledge_Eco-Systems\"><\/span>Link National Labs to Universities and Create New Knowledge Eco-Systems<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Universities have abundance in students when it comes to needing faculty support, on the other hand, research institutes have plenty of faculty but little to none of bright young students full of energy and ideas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A closer relationship of the above two with respect to specific geographical and spatial settings would help nurture research in the areas representing those fields of science in which the national research centers are proficient.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Together they can network with commercial sectors, thereby helping to establish industrial clusters in the areas drawing upon these research strengths, laying the foundations of innovation-driven \u201csmart cities.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Mission_Driven_Approach_to_R_D\"><\/span>Mission Driven Approach to R&amp;D<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>India indeed has the worldwide potential to unilaterally be at the helm in a number of domains, provided it is willing to invest. This will have to pick levers in certain very specific areas. These possible missions have been chosen on account of their strategic significance and societal impact:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>National Mission on Dark Matter:<\/strong> India must have at least one mission direction towards the basic sciences. India is one of the leading countries in high energy physics and mathematics. Payoffs from this research will have implications on space missions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Mission on Genomics: <\/strong>Genomic research is really at the core of life sciences of the future. India already has a fairly strong base of life science research institutes which together can really make a big contribution to this field.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Mission on Energy Storage Systems: <\/strong>Renewable energy is the future, and India has gone ahead in a big way to invest in renewable energy. With heavy investments in energy-storage systems, India will be able to position itself as a leader in manufacturing energy-storage systems. For India, this will be especially helpful to provide round-the-clock electricity to villages using off-grid renewable energy systems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Mission in Mathematics: <\/strong>A National Mission of Mathematics will vastly improve mathematics education at all levels of higher education, seek to establish five institutes of mathematical sciences in existing institutions, hold annual district, State and National Math Olympiads with sizeable scholarships for all winners with the overall aim of rapidly increasing human capital and research profile in the area of mathematics in the Indian context within a decade.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Mission on Cyber-Physical Systems:<\/strong> A cyber-physical system (CPS) involves machine-based communication, analysis, inference, decision, action, and control in the presence of the natural world (the so-called &#8220;Physical&#8221; aspect). These constitute the building blocks for the future industry that will bring in new challenges and opportunities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Mission on Agriculture: <\/strong>The purpose of a national mission could well be to help overcome weaknesses in the existing institutions of agricultural research and technology.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Greater_Public_Engagement_of_Science_and_Research_Establishments\"><\/span>Greater Public Engagement of Science and Research Establishments<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If science is to garner greater support from society, it will require scientists to engage more vigorously with society.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Much of science is \u2013 and should be \u2013 a public good, and hence that will always require substantial public funding.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Scientists need to create broad public support for their work and not treat it as an entitlement, given the many claims on the public purse. And if they do that, they will find a receptive and supportive public.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span>Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It is in making India&#8217;s R&amp;D status into a strong growth engine that cooperation is required to improve funding, foster investigator-led research, and create a collaborative ecosystem between universities and national laboratories. India&#8217;s potential to emerge as a top leader in global scientific R&amp;D can be unlocked by way of strategic national missions and greater public engagement. The path forward must include a new mindset that looks at R&amp;D not as a cost but as a stock for the future of the nation in which science remains a public good for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQs_Research_and_Development_in_India\"><\/span>FAQs: Research and Development in India<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n<div id=\"rank-math-faq\" class=\"rank-math-block\">\n<div class=\"rank-math-list \">\n<div id=\"faq-question-1740046157792\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_percentage_of_GDP_is_R_D_in_India\"><\/span><strong>What percentage of GDP is R&amp;D in India?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>&#8211; The Gross Expenditure on R&amp;D (GERD) in the country has been consistently increasing over the years and has more than doubled from Rs. 60,196.75 crore in 2010\u201311 to Rs. 127,380.96 crore in 2020\u201321.<br \/>&#8211; India\u2019s GERD as percentage of GDP remained at 0.66% and 0.64% during the years 2019\u201320 and 2020\u201321, respectively. India\u2019s per capita R&amp;D expenditure has increased to current PPP$ 42.0 in 2020\u201321 from current PPP$ 29.2 in 2007\u201308.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1740046139317\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_is_R_D_low_in_India\"><\/span><strong>Why is R&amp;D low in India?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>India&#8217;s low R&amp;D spending (0.64% of GDP) is due to limited private sector investment, bureaucratic hurdles, insufficient funding for higher education research, and a focus on service-based industries. Dependence on imported technology and lack of strong industry-academia collaboration further hinder innovation and indigenous research growth.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1740046171895\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_R_D_a_good_career_in_India\"><\/span><strong>Is R&amp;D a good career in India?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Yes, R&amp;D is a promising career in India, especially in sectors like pharmaceuticals, IT, space, and automotive. Growth in startups, government initiatives like Make in India, and global collaborations create opportunities. However, challenges like funding constraints and lower salaries compared to developed nations exist, requiring passion and perseverance.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1740046285602\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_the_budget_of_India_R_D_in_2024\"><\/span><strong>What is the budget of India R&amp;D in 2024?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>In the Union Budget 2024\u201325, India allocated \u20b920,000 crore to the Ministry of Science and Technology for research, development, and innovation.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The status of research and development (R&#038;D) in India reflects significant growth in investment, yet it remains low at approximately 0.6% of GDP compared to global leaders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":16267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[853],"tags":[72],"class_list":["post-16236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science-technology","tag-gs-3"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16236"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21358,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16236\/revisions\/21358"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}