Every October, Nobel announcements trigger familiar conversation in India. Why doesn't India, with US-sized science talent pool, win? What explains that? Perhaps more useful question is: why does Indian science produce so little?
Kamini Walia, senior scientist and programme head, AMCHSS, writes on Editorial Page: India's science problem is not talent, but priorities.
Data is stark. US spends 3.46% of GDP on research and development, South Korea 4.5%, China over 2.4%. India is at 0.64% of GDP, declining from 0.8% a decade ago. Of that, 60% is spent by government, only 30% by private sector. In US, private sector contributes around 70% of R&D expenditure. In India, business contributes around 30% of R&D expenditure.
So while we have talent, we have not built ecosystem where that talent can produce.
Walia says we need three shifts.
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First, funding window. Defined proportion of competitive funding to be given to private sector, with co-funding. Currently, government labs get 70% but output is low, patents per rupee is low. Industry must be made to invest, via matching grants, tax incentives and success metrics.
Second, we need less administrative micromanagement. Today, a scientist spends 40% time on files, not science. Procurement of equipment takes months, travel needs approvals. Third, we need long-term funding, not year-to-year. Science needs 5-10 year horizon.
Third, we need to change how we research and evaluate. Success in Indian science is measured by papers, not products. Patents, startups, technology transfer - not counted. Originality, reproducibility, important questions, new knowledge, new methods, new tools that produce tangible health benefits, new health policy. This means building pipelines properly - lab to market.
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The writer says India produces 10% of world's scientific publications but only 0.5% of world's patents. Why? Because incentives are misaligned.
For example, China produces 60% of world's electric vehicles, solar panels, batteries. India produces 10% of global EV production. How? Because China invested in applied R&D, manufacturing.
Walia concludes: India's vast and diverse setting for research is a feature, not bug. But for that to be productive, we need to produce as building, building research system that rewards risk, not just publications.
Nobel will not come by wishing. It will come when we fund, free and focus.
Tags: #IndiaScience #RAndD #NobelPrize #KaminiWalia #SciencePolicy #Innovation #PrivateSectorRAndD #Patents #ResearchFunding #AMCHSS