Lok Sabha Question No. 2070 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-12
Subject: Participation of People in Research and Development
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Subhas Sarkar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 2070 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12/02/2021

Participation of People in Research and Development

## 2070.  DR. SUBHAS SARKAR:

Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY वान और ौयोगक मंी be pleased to state:

- (a)      whether  the  Government  has  proposed  new  measures  and schemes to promote participation of people in Research and Development(R&D);
- (b)     if so, the details thereof;
- (c)      whether  it  is  a  fact  that  the  R&D  sector  in  India  is  about  to
- witness more growth in the coming years;
- (d)     if so, the details including Gross Expenditure on R&D(GERD) for last three years; and
- research
- (e)    the details of R&D investments, international collaborations and technology development during the said period?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE; MINISTER OF SCIENCE

AND TECHNOLOGY; AND MINISTER OF EARTH SCIENCES (DR. HARSH VARDHAN)

वाय और परवार कयाण मंी , वान और ौयोगक मंी और पृ वी वान मंी ( डॉ . हष वधन )

(a) & (b)   Yes Sir, Government has initiated several programmes and schemes  to  promote  people's  participation  in  R&D.  Several  new schemes to attract young researchers such as National Post Doctoral Fellowship; Early Career Research Award; Overseas Doctoral Fellowship;  and  Overseas  Post  Doctoral  Fellowship;  and  Teacher Associates  for  Research  Excellence  have  been  launched.  These schemes have almost doubled the opportunities for young and aspiring researchers for carrying out R&D in their chosen areas of science and engineering.  A  scheme  called  Visiting  Advanced  Joint  Research (VAJRA)  has  been  initiated  to  bring  best  of  global  science  and scientists to India including Non-Resident Indians. To address gender imbalance,  a  new  scheme  known  as  'Knowledge  Involvement  in Research Advancement through Nurturing' (KIRAN) has been launched. A pilot scheme VIGYAN JYOTI was tested on limited scale

and duration to attract and encourage young women in underrepresented  areas  such  as  engineering,  mathematics  in   top institutions. A scheme called Augmenting Writing Skills for Articulating Research  -  AWSAR  was  launched  to  encourage  young  scientists  to write popular science articles on their research pursuits. To encourage  young  students  to  think  innovatively,  a  scheme  MANAK  Million  Minds  Augmenting  National  Aspirations  and  Knowledge  has been launched to target 10 lakh students every year from class 6 to 10.

- (c) & (d)   The gross expenditure on R & D (GERD) in the country has been  consistently  increasing  over  the  years  and  has  nearly  tripled from Rs. 29,932.58 crore in 2005-06 to Rs. 95,452.44 in 2015-16. It has further increased to Rs. 1,03,099.26 crore and Rs. 1,13,825.03 crore in 2016-17 and 2017-18, respectively. It is estimated to be Rs. 1,23,847.70 crore in 2018-19.
- (e)     The  contribution  of central government, private sector industry, state  sector,  public  sector  industry  and  higher  education  sector in   R&D  investments   in  the  year  2017-18  is  estimated  as  45.4%, 36.8%, 6.4%, 4.6% and 6.8%, respectively.

India  has  active  S&T  cooperation  with  46  countries  and  17  regional and multilateral partnerships. These collaborations are in the form of joint R&D projects, human and institutional capacity building, innovation and technology development, creation of centres of excellence,  networking,  utilization  and  creation  of  mega  science facilities etc. During last 3 years, a total of 658 joint research projects have  been  supported.  India's  share  of  international  collaboration  in world output increased from 3.8 % in 2011 to 4.2 % in 2016.

A  few  important  technology  developments  have  resulted  from ongoing bi-lateral and multi-lateral  projects under Mega Facilities for Basic  Research  scheme.  Under  the  Compact  Muon  Solenoid  (CMS) project at European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva,  high-tech Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) foil technology was transferred to an Indian Industry. 31 GEM Chambers have been sent to CERN as in-kind contribution from India.   As part of Large Ion Collider Experiment (ALICE) experiment at CERN, design and development of Common Readout Unit (CRU), a hi-tech electronics item was completed. For construction of Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) in Germany, India supplied 164 Power Converters to FAIR, Germany as in-kind contribution from India.

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