Lok Sabha Question No. 209 (STARRED), answered on 2016-11-30
Subject: Scientific and Technological Research
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: GAJANAN CHANDRAKANT KIRTIKAR, SUNIL BALIRAM GAIKWAD

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.209 TO BE ANSWERED ON 30/11/2016

## SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL RESEARCH

## *209. SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR:

DR. SUNIL BALIRAM GAIKWAD:

Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ÉÊ´ÉYÉÉxÉ A´ÉÆ |ÉÉètÉÉäÉÊMÉBÉEÉÒ àÉÆjÉÉÒ be pleased to state:

- (a) the present position/status of India in terms of scientific research globally;
- (b) the budgetary allocation for scientific research in terms of percentage of GDP during the last three years and the current year;
- (c) whether the Government has launched any programme/scheme to attract youngsters towards scientific and  technological  research  in  the  country  and  if  so,  the  details  in  this  regard  along  with  names  of bodies/institutions involved in this endeavour;
- (d) whether the Government has signed any agreement with the National and International institutions for promoting research and if so, the details thereof during the last three years and the current year; and
- (e) the funds allocated during the above period for this purpose?

## ANSWER

MINISTER FOR MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES (DR. HARSH VARDHAN)

ÉÊ´ÉYÉÉxÉ A´ÉÆ |ÉÉètÉÉäÉÊMÉBÉEÉÒ àÉÆjÉÉÒ +ÉÉè® {Éßl´ÉÉÒ ÉÊ´ÉYÉÉxÉ àÉÆjÉÉÒ (bÉ. c­ÉÇ ´ÉvÉÇxÉ)

- (a) to (e):  A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT AS REFERRED IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.209 FOR 30/11/2016 REGARDING SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL RESEARCH

(a) India's  position  globally  in  scientific  research,  measured  in  terms  of  scientific  publications,  as  per Scopus database, is 6 th in 2013 with a growth rate of 13.9% as against the world average of 4.1% during 20092013. In the field of nanoscience and technology, India was at 3 rd position in 2013. In 2006, India's output of papers in Chemistry was fourth and by 2013 it was third behind United States of America and China. A report of Springer Nature has indicated that India is ascending towards world-class science and our country is at 13 th position globally on an index of world-class scientific journals. As an indicator of technological development, India stands at 10 th position globally in filing of patent applications.

(b) The Gross Expenditure on R&D (GERD) in the country, as per the latest available statistics, hovered around 0.88% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the last one decade.

(c) Government has launched several programmes/schemes to attract youngsters towards scientific and technical  research  in  the  country.  This  includes  the  Innovation  in  Science  Pursuit  for  Inspired  Research (INSPIRE)  Programme,  Kishore  Vaigyanik  Protsahan  Yojana  (KVPY),  Shyama  Prasad  Mukherjee Fellowships  (SPMF),  Junior/Senior  Research  Fellowships  (JRF/SRF),  Research  Associateship  etc.  The Children  Science  Congress  held  annually  provides  a  unique  opportunity  to  school  children  to  stimulate scientific temperament and learning the scientific methodology for observation, collection of data, analysis and arriving at conclusions and presenting the findings in various fields of science and engineering. Apart from the ongoing targeted schemes like Young Scientist Project Award, CSIR-Nehru Postdoctoral Fellowships new schemes like Early Career Research Award (ECRA), National Postdoctoral Fellowship (N-PDF) have been launched in recent  years  to  support  young  researchers.  Young  Scientists  undertake  these  fellowships  and projects in various research and academic institutions, namely, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes  of  Science  Education and Research  (IISERs), Central,  State  and Private  Universities / Colleges, Industry R&D labs and National Laboratories spread across the country.

(d) An intra-governmental agreement has been signed recently among 25 Departments to address and provide solutions to the most relevant engineering challenges faced by our nation by translating knowledge into  viable  technology  (product  and  processes)  in  selected  technology  domains  to  enable,  empower  and embolden  the  nation  for  inclusive  growth  and  self-reliance.  This  initiative  titled  IMPRINT  (IMPacting Research INnovation and Technology) is piloted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and  steered  by  IITs  and  Indian  Institute  of  Science  (IISc).  Government  has  signed  several  agreements  / Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with foreign governments and overseas institutions during the last three  years  and  current year.  This  includes  Thirty  Meter  Telescope  (TMT)  project,  Laser  Interferometer Gravitational-Wave  Observatory  (LIGO)-India  project,  Healthy  Life  Trajectory  Initiative  etc.  National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), France, Russian Science Foundation, Technology Strategy Board, UK, UK Department of Business Innovation & Skills, University of Paris, Canadian Institute of Health Research, Canada  etc.  are  some  of  the  partner  institutions  /  countries  involved  in  these  agreements.  Apart  from promoting basic science and engineering research fields, these agreements also include sectoral priority areas like biotechnology, crop science, nuclear physics etc. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has collaborated with various institutes both academic and R&D labs from India as well as abroad. The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology has entered into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with reputed overseas universities for deputing Indian students  graduating from  Indian  universities/  institutes  to  pursue  Ph.D.  in  areas  of science,  technology, engineering and medicine.

(e) A sum of Rs. 9.7 crore has been sanctioned as seed funding for LIGO-India project which will be shared  between  Department  of  Atomic  Energy  (DAE)  and  DST.  India  has  to  pay  11.5  Million  CHF  for Associate Membership of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) which will be shared by DAE and DST equally. Rs. 48.98 crore for TMT project and Rs. 30 lakh for Overseas doctoral fellowship have been released so far. In addition, 4 Million Euro is allocated for German collaboration with DST. DBT has allocated Rs. 173 crore to implement various agreements in the biotechnology sector.

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