Lok Sabha Question No. 4363 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-13
Subject: Allocation of Funds for R&D
Ministry: EARTH SCIENCES
Asked by: Vishnu Dayal Ram

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 4363 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2019

## ALLOCATION OF FUNDS FOR R&D

## 4363. SHRI VISHNU DAYAL RAM:

Will the Minister of EARTH SCIENCES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to increase the allocation of fund for Research  and  Development  (R&D)  in  Earth  Sciences  and  if  so,  the details thereof;
- (b) the  percentage  of  GDP  incurred  on  R&D  initiatives  in  Earth  Sciences during the last three years;
- (c) the  other  plans  of  the  Government  to  attract  students for  research  in Earth Sciences and give fruitful results; and
- (d) whether scientists are given world class facilities, equipment, resources, and packages to carry on their research, etc. and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER MINISTER FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND MINSITRY OF EARTH SCIENCES (DR. HARSH VARDHAN)

- (a) Yes Sir. There has been a gradual increase in the allocation of funds for Research and development in the earth sciences over the recent years. The year-wise total allocation including plan and non-plan for the last 3 years are as follows:

## (Rs in Crores)

| Year    |      RE |   Actual Expenditure |
|---------|---------|----------------------|
| 2015-16 | 1420.98 |              1296.8  |
| 2016-17 | 1579.11 |              1459.76 |
| 2017-18 | 1597.69 |              1547.73 |

- (b) The average percentage of expenditure incurred with respect to GDP for R&D initiatives in earth sciences during the last 3 years is 0.01.
- (c) In order to attract the students for conducting research in the field of earth sciences, the Ministry of Earth Sciences had started Development of  Skilled  Manpower in Earth System Sciences (DESK) program. DESK was initiated to create a large pool of trained and dedicated multidisciplinary  earth  system  and  manpower in the country. Besides, an International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography has been set up in Hyderabad for development of skills to conduct front ranking research in the field of Ocean Sciences.

A set of five Project Appraisal and Monitoring Committees (PAMCs) and a Technology Research Board (TRB) have been constituted for appraisal, review and monitoring of the various projects for consideration for extramural funding. An Apex committee chaired by the Secretary  has  also  been  constituted  to  consider  specific  proposals recommended by these committees.

Under Earth Science & Technology Cell (ESTC), MoES supports theme based focused network R&D activities involving multi institutions with focused objectives and definite deliverables that can be translated into operational  use.  It  also  helps  towards  capacity  building  and  creating adequate expertise  in  various  disciplines  of  earth  system  Science  for the benefit of society and national development.

During the period 2017-20, 11 projects are funded under the theme of Atmospheric  Science  including  Climate  Change;  33  projects  under Geosciences;  10  projects  under  Hydrology  &  Cryosphere;  17  Projects under Seismology; 13 projects under Ocean science and 1 project under ESTC.

All these initiatives are expected to enhance the skill of the operational weather, climate, ocean state and multi-hazard services.

- (d) Yes Sir. Scientists are being given world class facilities, equipment and resources  to  carry  out  the  research  in  earth  sciences.  The  major initiative for creation of such facilities are (i) geochronology laboratory to support contemporary cutting-edge research in isotope geochemistry and  geochronology  at  the  Inter-University  Accelerator  Centre  (IUAC), New Delhi (ii) Scientific deep drilling in Koyna Intra-plate Seismic Zone of Maharashtra aimed at setting up of borehole observatories for better understanding of reservoir induced earthquakes (iii) provide logistic and scientific support to conduct front ranking research in the polar regions i.e.,  Antarctic  and  Arctic  (iv)  Supporting  the  Advanced  Centre  for Atmospheric Radar Research (ACARR) in Cochin University of Science and Technology (v) State of the art supercomputing facility at Pune and Noida, real-time data of various atmospheric and oceanographic parameters  using  systematic  observations  and  field  campaigns,  and high  resolution  mathematical  models  for  better  prediction  of  weather and climate.

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