Are publicly funded R&D units innovative enough? |Explained

Image used for representation purposes. |Photo source: SR Raghunathan

Story so far: The Government of India, the Federation of Indian Industry (CII), and the Office of the Major Scientific Advisors of the Centre for Technology, Innovation and Economic Research has released a detailed assessment of publicly funded research and development in India. A total of 244 R&D organizations affiliated with various ministries participated in the study: “Evaluation of Indicators of Innovation Excellence in Publicly Funded R&D organizations”. However, due to the “sensitive nature” of its work, scientific institutions that will constitute the major share of overall R&D expenditure in India, such as defense research, space and atomic energy research, belong to the major share of overall R&D expenditure in India. Academic institutions and universities are not part of the research either.

What is the purpose of this study?

The survey was conducted through an online questionnaire and aims to capture the contributions of publicly funded R&D organizations in areas that are critical to India’s growth. The key question the authors of the report are trying to answer is whether these labs are primarily engaged in curiosity-driven academic science or are committed to developing products and new innovations that match the needs of the industry. The authors attempt to “capture and evaluate” innovative metrics in publicly funded R&D laboratories/institutions. “The analysis and recommendations in this report were meant to guide the public-funded R&D labs/institutions to increase their contributions meaningfully towards a number of Sustainable Development Goals and national priorities through their research capabilities, to help the nation navigate various challenges on the socio-economic front, from health challenges to ensuring a more diverse scientific base through opportunities for women scientists, and finally to contribute to skilling and creating meaningful employment by working alongside industry and startups,” the study noted.

How is it done?

These major problems are divided into 62 parameters. These included questions on the labs' annual spend on R&D, number of young scientists, patents filed, technologies developed, participation of women scientists and their contribution to 'national missions' such as the 'Deep Ocean Mission,' 'National Quantum Mission' etc. Labs/institute self selected themselves as 'Basic, Applied or Services' or as 'hybrid' — a lab/institute whose research straddles more than one of the three research categories of basic, applied and services. All data submitted by the laboratory/institution are accompanied by the signature of the director, which indicates that the submitted data is true and valid.

What are the main discoveries?

An important finding is that only about 25% of the labs surveyed provide incubation support for startups, while only 16% of the labs support “Deep Tech” startups. Only 15% of people work with overseas industries, with only half of them opening facilities to outside researchers and students. About half of the labs/organizations contributed to national policy and developed technologies for the “Made in India” program. About 35% of organizations target this skill Indian mission, while about 30% say they are targeting the Swachh Bharat mission. Compared to the previous year, the number of permanent employees in 2022-23 decreased many labs/organizations, while the dependence on contract employees increased from 17,234 to 19,625. The median number of young researchers increased to around 58% of the previous year in 2022-23. The total budget for 155 laboratories/institutions increased from Rs 9924 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 13,162 crore in 2022-23. The total number of scientific staff and the share of female scientists among scientific staff remained stagnant between 2021 and 2023.

Will the report make suggestions?

As part of its recommendation, the report advocates that each laboratory “requires review of its existing mandate” and aligns with “Viksit Bharat.” The mission is to focus on the “key technologies” directed by the government, and publicly funded R&D organizations must adopt this strategy “on the basis of war.” They should work closely with the industry and with each other. The report recommends the establishment of Article 8 companies (nonprofits registered under the Department of Corporate Affairs) to support startups, open research and testing facilities, and improve cross-links with higher education institutions.