{"id":62075,"date":"2025-12-18T18:38:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T13:08:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=62075"},"modified":"2025-12-18T18:40:04","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T13:10:04","slug":"india-science-technology-ecosystem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/18-12-2025\/india-science-technology-ecosystem","title":{"rendered":"How India\u2019s Science and Technology Ecosystem Strengthened in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/ Science and Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s science and technology (S&amp;T) landscape witnessed significant momentum in 2025, marked by improved global rankings, large-scale funding for research and innovation, and advances in frontier technologies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Rising global standing in science and innovation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India secured the <strong>38th position<\/strong> in the<strong> Global Innovation Index 2025,<\/strong> reflecting steady progress among the world\u2019s most innovative economies.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India ranked<strong> 6th globally<\/strong> in <strong>intellectual property filings<\/strong>, underlining growing innovation output, and also improved in the <strong>Network Readiness Index,<\/strong> rising from 79th in 2019 to <strong>49th in 2024<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India also placed <strong>third<\/strong> globally in<strong> research publications<\/strong>, reinforcing its expanding academic and scientific footprint.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Major Initiatives taken by the Government<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme:<\/strong> It was approved with a total outlay of <strong>\u20b91 lakh crore<\/strong> over <strong>six years.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Designed to <strong>attract private-sector participation<\/strong>, the scheme focuses on <strong>research in sunrise sectors <\/strong>such as AI, quantum technologies, clean energy, biotechnology, space and the digital economy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) <\/strong>has been established with the ANRF<strong> 2023 Act.<\/strong><strong>It aims<\/strong> to seed, grow and promote R&amp;D and foster a culture of research and innovation throughout India\u2019s universities, colleges, research institutions, and R&amp;D laboratories.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>ANRF will act as an apex body<\/strong> to provide high-level strategic direction of scientific research in the country as per recommendations of the <strong>National Education Policy (NEP).\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Atal Innovation Mission (AIM): <\/strong>Encourages startups, entrepreneurship, and innovation among students and professionals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Launch of National Missions<\/strong> such as;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>National Quantum Mission <\/strong>to make India one of the leading nations in the development of Quantum Technologies &amp; Applications (budget outlay: <strong>\u20b96,003.65 crore<\/strong>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India Semiconductor Mission<\/strong> (\u20b976,000 crore) for building up the semiconductor ecosystem in India.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India AI Mission <\/strong>to strengthen AI capabilities (budget outlay: \u20b910,372 crore).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) <\/strong>strengthened capabilities in robotics, AI, healthcare, cybersecurity, and mining technologies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Innovation, startups and inclusive science:<\/strong> Through initiatives like <strong>NIDHI (National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations),<\/strong> DST expanded startup incubation to <strong>Tier II and III cities<\/strong>, set up <strong>new incubators and entrepreneur-in-residence centres<\/strong>, and supported advanced manufacturing and medical device innovation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Research parks<\/strong> at IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT Chennai, have been established which provide an interface between entrepreneurship and Industry to establish their R&amp;D units in collaboration with students &amp; faculty members of the IITs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What are the Challenges?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Funding Constraints:<\/strong> Despite robust government support, private sector investment in R&amp;D in India remains limited compared to global benchmarks, constraining large-scale innovation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Talent Retention Challenges: <\/strong>The <strong>brain drain persists<\/strong>, as skilled researchers are often drawn abroad by better infrastructure, funding, and career advancement opportunities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Limited University-Industry Collaboration:<\/strong> Weak links between academia and industry hinder commercialization of research.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Skilled Workforce Deficit:<\/strong> Shortage of trained R&amp;D professionals in deep-tech and interdisciplinary fields.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s concerted efforts in strengthening its research and innovation ecosystem reflect a strategic vision to become a global leader in science and technology.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India must accelerate its capabilities in frontier technologies to maintain and enhance its global standing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Continued focus on <strong>talent retention, technology commercialization, and global partnerships<\/strong> will ensure that India not only addresses national challenges but also contributes significantly to global scientific progress, driving sustainable growth and technological self-reliance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ddnews.gov.in\/en\/explainer-how-indias-science-and-technology-ecosystem-strengthened-in-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>DD News<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Context<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">India\u2019s science and technology (S&#038;T) landscape witnessed significant momentum in 2025, marked by improved global rankings, large-scale funding for research and innovation, and advances in frontier technologies.\n<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>Rising global standing in science and innovation<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">It secured the 38th position in the Global Innovation Index 2025, reflecting steady progress among the world\u2019s most innovative economies.\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The country ranked 6th globally in intellectual property filings, underlining growing innovation output, and improved sharply in the Network Readiness Index, rising from 79th in 2019 to 49th in 2024.\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">India also placed third globally in research publications, reinforcing its expanding academic and scientific footprint.\n<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/18-12-2025\/india-science-technology-ecosystem\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62075"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62086,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62075\/revisions\/62086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}