Turning point for Innovation
Context:
In the early years, the Indian state played a dominant role in scientific research, bringing institutions like the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) under government control.
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- This approach yielded notable successes, such as the nuclear test of 1974.
- However, as India’s economy grows and its ambitions expand, a shift in science policy is emerging—one that prioritises intellectual capabilities in private firms and universities alongside state-led initiatives.
In the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024, released annually by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), India secured 39th position among 133 global economies. This indicates an improvement of one position from 2023, when India ranked 40th out of 132 economies. Notably, in 2015, India held the 81st position, marking a significant rise in the rankings over the past decade. India is recognised as one of the fastest-rising economies in terms of innovation over the past decade, along with countries like China, Turkey, Vietnam, and the Philippines. In the 2024 edition, Switzerland, Sweden, the United States, Singapore, and the United Kingdom were named as the most innovative economies.
Need for a New Science Policy
- Extending Expertise: For India to become a global economic powerhouse, intellectual expertise must extend beyond government organisations like ISRO.
- While placing a spacecraft on the moon is a significant achievement, the engineers behind such feats should also be contributing their knowledge to universities and private enterprises.
- This broader distribution of expertise is essential for widespread innovation and sustained economic growth.
- Examples: Other nations have successfully adopted this model.
- In France, government-funded defence research is conducted within private firms.
- In the United States, 80% of NASA’s budget is outsourced to private companies and universities.
- The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which plays a crucial role in NASA’s space exploration, was initially established at Caltech—a private university—before evolving into an institution funded by NASA contracts.
- Similarly, China’s recent AI breakthrough, DeepSeek, emerged from private-sector expertise developed in algorithmic trading.
Shifting Public Investment Towards Private Research
- Paper on Science Policy: In December 2024, a paper on India’s science policy laid the intellectual foundation for this transition.
- It argued that taxpayer resources should be increasingly allocated to private firms and universities, rather than being concentrated solely in state-run research bodies.
- The paper also outlined the legal and administrative reforms necessary to facilitate this change.
- Advantage: A key advantage of this approach is the ability to manage research risks more effectively.
- When the government funds multiple private research teams to tackle the same problem through different approaches, only the most successful ideas receive continued funding.
- Vested Interests: Moreover, private firms engaged in research—such as an automobile component company working on advanced ball bearings—have a vested interest in ensuring quality outcomes.
- The knowledge generated through publicly funded research spills over into commercial success, ultimately strengthening India’s industrial capabilities.
Key Developments in 2025
This shift towards private-sector-driven research is now gaining momentum. Several significant developments signal a turning point for India’s science policy:
- Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF): This newly established organisation will distribute grants worth ₹2,800 crore annually to fund early-stage research in private firms and universities, breaking from the traditional model of directing all research funding to government institutions.
- Private Sector R&D Initiative: The 2025 Union Budget has allocated ₹20,000 crore to implement a private-sector-driven research, development, and innovation initiative.
- ISRO’s New Approach: According to a Financial Times report, ISRO will now procure launch vehicles from private companies instead of building them in-house.
- Advancing AI Research: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) has embraced a new funding strategy to enhance India’s AI capabilities.
- Instead of channeling taxpayer money into government-run institutions, MEITY has procured 18,693 GPUs, which will be operated by private IT infrastructure firms.
Taken together, these initiatives suggest that 2025 will be a pivotal year for India’s science policy. The government is moving away from directly employing researchers as civil servants and instead channelling public funds into private institutions where groundbreaking innovation can flourish.
