While the government has been increasing its contribution to research and development (R&D), the private sector's involvement is still lagging, as per the Economic Survey.
According to the Survey, India lags in R&D, with a significant gap across major sectors, the gross expenditure on research & development (GERD) in India has increased from approximately Rs 60,196 crore in FY11 to about Rs 127,381 crore in FY2120.
In the USA, the private sector leads, with companies like Google and Amazon accounting for about 70 % of R&D while China, on the other hand, has a combination of major government funding with rising private sector involvement, As per the Survey.
Apart from this, the report also highlighted that in India, not only is the industrial R&D low, but it is also sectorally concentrated. Drugs and pharmaceuticals led the way, followed by information technology, transportation, defence, and biotechnology.
Historically, India's R&D focus has been on basic research rather than applied research.
In India, incentives like grants, loans, tax exemptions, patent-related incentives etc. are given for R&D. In addition to these incentives, initiatives like Start-Up India, Digital India, and the Atal Innovation Mission have been introduced to foster entrepreneurship, research, and technological advancement.
In addition to this, Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs) are the major hubs for research and innovation. These Institutes with internal programmes and external collaborations are skilling and pushing forward the youngster to be actively involved in research activities.
The current research landscape is largely focusing on the technology field and collaboration with the companies like Infosys, HCL,Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Reliance Industries have been successful, as per CII (Confederation of Indian Industry).
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and Anusandhan National Research Foundation (2023) Act aim to create an atmosphere conducive to research partnerships but challenges persist.
