Experts call for ramping up science, technology investment in India
Experts call for ramping up science, technology investment in India
While India has made significant investments in select missions and institutions, the broader challenge lies in widening access to research funding beyond a small set of elite centres and building mechanisms that allow emerging institutions to absorb and utilise resources effectively -- Prof K VijayRaghavan, Former PSA at Centre
While India has enormous talent, the overall investment in science and technology is very modest, said experts here recently.
At an event held in the national capital, the experts reflected on how scientific research priorities must evolve in response to global uncertainty, rapid technological advances, and increasingly complex societal challenges.
Professor Jack Szostak, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine (2009), said that increasing investment in science and education can help develop solutions to global problems. “India has enormously talented people, but overall investment in science and technology remains very modest.
There are bright spots of world-class research, but they are small compared to what India could achieve,” Szostak said, during the event organised by Ashoka University. Szostak, a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Chicago, stated that investment in science is often seen as competing with immediate social needs.
“On the contrary, the most effective way to address these pressing challenges is to increase investment in science and technology, because that will lead to solutions to the pressing problems of today,” the expert said.
Former Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India, Professor K VijayRaghavan, reiterated the need to expand both the scale and footprint of scientific research in India.
“While India has made significant investments in select missions and institutions, the broader challenge lies in widening access to research funding beyond a small set of elite centres and building mechanisms that allow emerging institutions to absorb and utilise resources effectively,” he added.
