Retain R&D talent, says Chaudhry
India must reposition itself from being the net consumer of R&D to net producer of R&D, according to Rajesh K Chaudhry, Additional Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises,
Globally, 10-12 countries are primarily contributing to the major share of R&D and there is a need to enhance India’s commitment to R&D.
While sharing the detailed statistical data of R&D in Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs), he emphasized that they must increase R&D expenditure and also promote and retain R&D talent.
The government, he assured, shall provide full support for increasing CPSEs’ R&D expenditure.
He was speaking at the ‘Scaling up R&D investments – Way Forward’ session organized jointly by the Department of Public Enterprises and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on 4 Mar 2020.
“An exponential rise in R&D in CPSEs can boost R&D investments in the country,” added Professor K Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India at the CPSEs forum.
There are various levels of R&D for conventional research, futuristic research, research for addressing new problems and research for addressing unknown problems. He further mentioned that R&D is not only influenced by the quantum of investment, but also by the quality.
Prof. Raghavan further mentioned that the Technology Group, constitution of which has been recently announced by the government will primarily have three roles – policy, procurement and R&D.
The group will have the Secretaries from Space, Atomic Energy, Defence, IT and secretaries of other departments would be invited depending on the subject being dealt.
It will have a 20-member Advisory Panel – 10 from the industry and 10 from academia and will provide an extraordinary opportunity for all the stakeholders to collaborate for social good and global competitiveness.
Shri Sailesh, Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises, Government of India mentioned that while CPSEs play a dominant role in our economy, it is important that CPSEs diversify into new areas. He stated that R&D is an essential activity and growth follows when investments in R&D is stepped up. He further highlighted that CPSEs must innovate, produce and expand their presence in India and abroad.
Dr. Arabinda Mitra, Scientific Secretary, Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government, emphasized that research and innovation have emerged as the most powerful storehouse that is impacting the survival of enterprises worldwide.
He stated that the new models of synergistic partnerships need to be evolved to bolster the innovation ecosystem and encourage PSE’s enhanced investment in R&D.
Meanwhile, CII is pursuing a proposal on ‘Advanced Mission-mode Innovation and Research (ADMIRE) programme’ with the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser.
It encompasses mandating allocation of a significant quantum of a ministry’s total budget in R&D expenditure for undertaking technology development programmes on PPP mode.
While 50% of the project cost may be supported by the government on grant-in-aid basis for meeting the technological risks, the balance needs to be mobilized by the industry, according to a CII release.
CII’s commitment to fostering an ecosystem for leveraging technology to address societal challenges by encouraging industry participation in the process is reflected through various other programmes.
These programmes include Global Innovation & Technology Alliance (GITA), a Joint Venture Not-for-Profit Company incorporated by CII and Technology Development Board of DST that is implementing industry-government co-funded industrial R&D programme and “Prime Minister’s Fellowship Scheme for Doctoral Research” where industry and government are co-funding PhD scholars to do industrial R&D. fiinews.com
