India third most sought after destination for R&D in world, says science minister

Hyderabad: Contrary to the popular perception that R&D in science is being neglected and government is not spending enough, the union minister of science & technology Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday said that in the past couple of years, the investment has trebled and the country has become the third most sought after destination for R&D.

As per the study of the National Science and Technology Management Information System (NSTMIS), the country’s gross expenditure on R&D has tripled in a decade - from Rs 24,117.24 crore in 2004-05 to Rs 85,326.10 crore in 2014-15 - with the government chipping in with more money as compared to private sector industries. “Science in India is at its best under the leadership of the Prime Minister. We have become the third most sought after destination for R&D in the world. In the area of science, we have top quality collaborations with 44 countries in the world… Our investment in R&D has trebled in the recent years and our expenditure in R&D is better than UK, France, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Australia, Israel and Canada,” he said while addressing the members of the Jain International Trade Organisation (JITO) in Hyderabad.

He pointed out that the country has made rapid strides in the felid of science and the prestigious science body -- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) -- stands ninth among the 1,200 government-funded science institutions globally. He also added that India is third when it comes to nanotechnology.

The minister in his speech mentioned that every problem of this planet can be solved with the help of science and urged the industry to generously contribute towards the R&D area. Meanwhile, he also credited the ex-prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for bringing science to the centre stage of politics in the country by modifying the popular slogan of Jai Jawaan Jai Kisan and making it ‘Jai Jawaan, Jai Kisan aur Jai Vigyan’.

Hyderabad: Contrary to the popular perception that R&D is being neglected India and the government is not spending enough, Union minister of science & technology, Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday said that in the past couple of years, investment in R&D has trebled and the country has become the third most sought after destination for R&D.

As per a study of the National Science and Technology Management Information System (NSTMIS), the country’s gross expenditure on R&D has tripled in a decade — from Rs 24,117.24 crore in 2004-05 to Rs 85,326.10 crore in 2014-15 — with the government chipping in with more money as compared to private sector industries.

“Science in India is at its best under the leadership of the Prime Minister. We have become the third most sought after destination for R&D in the world. In the area of science, we have top quality collaborations with 44 countries in the world… Our investment in R&D has trebled in the recent years and our expenditure in R&D is better than UK, France, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Australia, Israel and Canada,” he said while addressing the members of the Hyderabad chapter of the Jain International Trade Organisation (JITO) in Hyderabad.

He pointed out that the country has made rapid strides in the field of science and the prestigious science body — Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) — stands ninth among the 1,200 government-funded science institutions globally. He also said India ranks third when it comes to nanotechnology.

The minister, in his speech, mentioned that every problem of this planet can be solved with the help of science and urged industry to generously spend on R&D.

He also credited former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee for bringing science to the centrestage of politics in the country by modifying the popular slogan of `Jai Jawaan, Jai Kisan’ to ‘Jai Jawaan, Jai Kisan aur Jai Vigyan’.