Science and Technology Development in India

Indian Science and R&D Industry Report  (Size: 892.91 KB ) (October, 2020) Introduction

India ranks third among the most attractive investment destinations for

technology transactions in the world. Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister

of Department of Science and Technology, has reiterated that technology

is a strong priority area for the Government, and it aims to make people

science centric. Modern India has had a strong focus on science and

technology, realising that it is a key element for economic growth.

India is among the topmost countries in the world in the field of

scientific research, positioned as one of the top five nations in the

field for space exploration. The country has regularly undertaken space

missions, including missions to the moon and the famed Polar Satellite

Launch Vehicle (PSLV). India is likely to take a leading role in

launching satellites for the SAARC nations, generating revenue by

offering its space facilities for use to other countries. Market size

In September 2020, India moved four places up to reach the 48th rank

and made to the top 50 countries in the Global Innovation Index (GII)

for the first time. India ranks in the top 15 for indicators such as ICT

(Information and Communication Technology) services exports, graduates

in science and engineering, government online services and

R&D-intensive global companies. India ranked 52 in Global Innovation Index (GII)-2019. It moved up to fifth rank in Global R&D Funding Forecast 2020.

The Government is extensively promoting research parks technology

business incubators (TBIs) and (RPs), which would promote the innovative

ideas till they become commercial ventures. India’s gross

expenditure in R&D was forecast to reach US$ 96.50 billion in 2020.

By 2022, R&D expenditure is targeted to reach at least 2 per cent of

the country’s GDP. India's National Artificial Intelligence

Strategy prepared by NITI Aayog outlined a way forward to harness the

potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in different fields. Accenture

offers a framework for assessing the economic effect of AI for selected

G20 countries in its latest AI research studies and forecast that AI

will raise India's annual growth rate by 1.3% points by 2035. Developments/Investments:

With support from the Government, considerable investment and

development has incurred in different sectors such as agriculture,

healthcare, space research, and nuclear power through scientific

research. For instance, India is gradually becoming self-reliant in

nuclear technology. Recent developments Some of the recent developments in the field of science and technology in India are as follows:

On October 10, 2020, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research

(CSIR) and KPIT successfully ran trials of India’s first hydrogen fuel

cell (HFC) prototype car running on an indigenously developed fuel cell

stack at CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune. On October

8, 2020, the Union Minister of Education, Mr. Ramesh Pokhriyal

'Nishank’, inaugurated the Gyan Circle Ventures, a MeitY funded

Technology Business Incubator (TBI) of Indian Institute of Information

Technology, Sri City (Chittoor), Andhra Pradesh, to foster innovation

and entrepreneurial spirit in institutions. On October 6,

2020, Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) and Prasar

Bharati signed a MoU to broadcast and promote new agriculture technology

and innovations. In October 2020, Department of Science &

Technology (DST) and IBM India announced collaborations to scale two

DST initiatives—Vigyan Jyoti and Engage with Science (Vigyan

Prasar)—that are aimed to increase the number of women working in

technology fields. In October 2020, in line with Atmanirbhar

Bharat to achieve complete self-reliance, C-DAC signed a MoU with

National Supercomputing Mission Host Institutes to establish

supercomputing infrastructure in various premier institutions across

India and accelerate the pace of research and innovation using

computational science techniques. In October 2020, Prime

Minister, Shri. Narendra Modi, inaugurated RAISE 2020, a mega virtual

summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI), to exchange ideas on using AI

for social transformation, inclusion and empowerment in areas such as

healthcare, agriculture, education and smart mobility and others.

In October 2020, Ministry of MSME implemented artificial intelligence

(AI) and machine learning (ML) on its robust single window system,

'Champions’, to provide assistance and solutions to issues. The Union Budget 2020-21

Under the Union Budget 2020-21, the Government announced the largest

ever allocation of Rs 6,302 crore (US$ 901.70 million) to the Ministry

of Science and Technology. It has also allocated Rs 2,787 crore (US$

398.77 million) to the Department of Biotechnology and Rs 5,385 crore

(US$ 770.50 million) to the Council for Scientific and Industrial

Research.   The Road Ahead

India is aggressively working towards establishing itself as a leader

in industrialisation and technological development. Significant

developments in the nuclear energy sector are likely as India looks to

expand its nuclear capacity. Moreover, nanotechnology is expected to

transform India’s pharmaceutical industry. The agriculture sector is

also likely to undergo a major revamp with the government investing

heavily for a technology-driven Green Revolution. Government of India,

through the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy-2013, among

other things, aspires to position India among the world’s top five

scientific powers. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch

its first Indian human mission by 2022.