DST calls to boost R&D spend

The Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India has emphasised on the necessity to enhance R&D spend and elevated personal sector participation to obtain the imaginative and prescient of 2047. 

As per DST India’s gross expenditure on analysis and improvement (GERD) continues to hover round 0.64% of GDP, nicely under the worldwide common of roughly 1.8%. 

Meanwhile, business’s contribution to that complete is about 36%, far decrease than superior economies the place personal companies usually contribute 50-70 % or extra.

Speaking at a workshop organised in collaboration with FICCI, in Mumbai on the National Science & Technology (S&T) Survey 2024–25, Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, DST, emphasised that reaching India’s imaginative and prescient of Developed India would require making analysis and innovation central to the nation’s development story, not solely inside universities and laboratories but additionally throughout industries and startups.

“For India to achieve its vision of Viksit Bharat, research and innovation must become central to our growth story, not just in universities and labs, but across industries and startups. The National S&T Survey gives us the factual foundation to frame effective policies, bridge gaps, and design schemes that truly catalyse innovation-driven growth,” Prof. Karandikar mentioned. 

“We don’t want the survey to be viewed as a compliance exercise. Instead, it should be seen as a national responsibility, a collective effort to map India’s R&D contributions and identify areas where private investment can grow. The insights we gather will directly help design better schemes and incentives that benefit both industry and the nation,” he added. 

He additionally highlighted key authorities interventions such because the ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development & Innovation (RDI) Fund, the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), and mission-mode programmes together with the National Quantum Mission, NM-ICPS, and AI Mission.

Vivek Kumar Singh, Senior Advisor, NITI Aayog mentioned “The National S&T Survey is not just a data exercise, it is the foundation for evidence-based science policy in India. Reliable and timely R&D data enables us to design better programmes, attract greater industry participation, and strengthen India’s position in global innovation indices.”

“India today stands at an inflection point where industry-led R&D, university collaboration, and government reforms are converging. This is the right moment to scale our innovation intensity, to move from research to real products and from labs to the marketplace,’’ he added.

Murtaza Khorakiwala, Managing Director, Wockhardt & Senior Member, FICCI: “If an Indian company can develop world-class antibiotics at one-tenth the global cost, it proves our innovation potential. What we now need is the right ecosystem, fiscal incentives, faster regulatory pathways, stronger IP protection, and better university–industry linkages, to make India a global innovation powerhouse.”