The last two terms of the Narendra Modi government have seen the launch of some major high-tech projects in the country, including supercomputing, cyber-physical systems and quantum technologies. These are combined with efforts to strengthen the participation of the private sector in regional and environmental policies. India became the fourth country to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon. Similarly, there have been concerns about the marginalization of basic research and the dearth of research funding as a percentage of GDP. So what do leading scientists make of the new Budget in Modi’s third term?
N. Kalaiselvi, Director General, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research:
Continuing the focus on ‘Viksit Bharat’ like last year, this year’s Union Budget also spurs research and development in key areas such as climate-resilient agriculture, precious minerals, small and conventional nuclear energy technology, energy saving technologies, etc.
Under the Finance plan entitled “Innovation, Research and Development”, the Honorable Minister of Finance has clearly emphasized basic research and prototype development, including innovation and industrial relations. It is expected that the space sector will get a big boost.
In the Budget discussion, the Honorable Minister of Finance listed nine points.
In addition, I see a few other important sectors, such as “Productivity and Resilience in Agriculture”, “Energy Security”, and “Manufacturing and Services”, which offer opportunities for research and development, and are also CSIR sites.
The proposed “Important Minerals Project” and the exemption of excise duty on 25 essential minerals will greatly enhance the research of essential minerals. Another area of national importance and global importance is clean energy. Water supply, sanitation and solid waste management are also considered key areas. Well, CSIR is developing technology in all these areas.
In my opinion, the plan of “plug and play” industrial parks in 100 cities and the establishment of twelve industrial parks under the National Industrial Park Development Program will provide opportunities essential for taking up indigenous technologies such as those from CSIR laboratories. Importantly, there is a clear focus on commercializing technology through participation in private sector-led research.
To meet the fund requirements for various R&D activities as mandated by the Government of India, during the Financial Year 2024-25, the Hon’ble Finance Minister has earmarked an allocation of Rs 6323.41 crore for the Department of Research Science and Industry.
The CSIR budget has increased by 10%, over last year. We will try our best to support our R&D activities within the given budget, and if there is any other requirement, we will approach the Ministry of Finance during the revised budget.
Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology (DBT):
The Budget presented by the Honorable Minister of Finance emphasizes the issue of changing agricultural research in the country. The focus is on productivity and climate resilience in agriculture. DBT has established “rapid breeding platforms” at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Varanasi; Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana; and the National Institute of Agri-Food Biotechnology, Mohali, to shorten the development time of agricultural crops with improved characteristics and weather resistance. Taking the rice crop as an example, in field conditions, rice can be grown for two to three generations per year. In a rapid breeding facility four to six generations of rice crops are grown in one year.
In addition, many types of agricultural crops with good climatic conditions and high productivity are being developed by phenotyping and genotyping genetic materials related to rice, wheat, chickpea, linseed, niger, safflower , sesame, green gram, cowpea, black gram, moth bean, pear, and rice bean.
The ability of human resources to gather young minds about the innovation of the future is also necessary in the doctoral / PhD course. [levels], which is normally a sole proprietorship. The recently launched i3C BRIC-RCB PhD program, aimed at solving national challenges through partnerships, supports interdisciplinary study. This will contribute to innovation as well as expertise and create scientists with diverse expertise in advanced areas of life sciences and biotechnology.
The abolition of the angel tax is a big incentive for people starting to raise private capital. For the high-risk biotechnology sector, the angel tax was a disincentive to attract investment. The publication of the 2024 Values will pave the way for investment – a very welcome step to encourage the start-up of deep technologies that need to raise small stages at the pre-product level, which are often supported by the government, investors angels, and very important people.
Seen in conjunction with the FDI promotion provisions in the Budget, this will create a robust pipeline of angel-funded portfolio companies ready for acquisition by VC firms after BIRAC with funding for risky and original ideas. [BIRAC is the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council.]
R&D efforts in our country are based on education. All too often, innovations developed in the laboratory fail to be commercialized. To bridge this gap, R&D efforts in private companies are needed on an equal scale. In this regard, the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) initiative for basic research and prototype development totaling Rs 1 lakh crore will pave the way for private sector-led research and innovation.
Subhash Lakhotia, Distinguished Professor, Banaras Hindu University:
Actual expenditure on S&T and higher education in 2023-2024 was significantly lower than the original allocation for that year.
The recommended allocations for 2024-2025 are not significantly different from 2022-2023 for this reason. They may appear deceptively larger than last year, but in most cases the increase appears to be less than 10% of that in 2022-2023. This is really unfortunate since this nominal increase will be, if it already exists, reduced by inflation.
In addition, due to the increasing number of public and private organizations, the level of competition has increased significantly. Therefore, the amount available per capita will be significantly lower than in 2022-2023. Another concern is whether the actual funds available will match the budget provided. The status of 2023-2024 gives a red signal!
ANRF can make little difference when this comes into effect. So far, it doesn’t seem to matter!
And I don’t think that as a percentage of GDP, this year’s allocation showed any increase. Unless that happens, we will either stay in the same position or go down.
The zero budget system (ZBS) and quarterly reports are still problematic. Basic quality research projects cannot have a one-to-one relationship between ‘intended outputs’ and ‘achieved results’ because in any research effort, there are many things that are not known. So the prescribed quarterly reports put unnecessary burden and pressure on the researchers. Only when the actual results differ from the expected ones does a true quantum breakthrough occur.
Tapasya Srivastava, professor, Department of Genetics, University of Delhi South Campus:
The previously announced ANRF will be operationalized with a focus on basic science research as well as model development. The interim budget had already announced a total of Rs 1 lakh crore for R&D for innovation, led by the private sector. The creation of a separate venture capital fund for space technology also has the potential to stimulate startups. However, considering the huge capital requirements of space technology, the allocation of Rs 1000 crore seems inadequate.
The budget has announced measures to boost clean energy production, including solar and nuclear power, through joint measures such as tax cuts on raw materials and minerals.
The allocation of the Integrated Manufacturing Program (PLI) scheme for medicines has increased to Rs 2143 crore; it will help to boost the production of domestic medicines. But direct announcements of health and youth health as well as job creation would have been welcome.
While the Budget may not have the usual number of headline science announcements, there are some encouraging steps. Emphasis on job creation and training policy will undoubtedly help many science students get into reputed companies. In time, this will encourage students to consider science as a career with more opportunities than education.
CP Rajendran, National Institute of Advanced Studies:
The government plans to set up a venture capital fund of Rs 1,000 crore to promote space technology. There is also a big push for R&D of new nuclear technology. The government will collaborate with the private sector to create small facilities and develop new nuclear energy technologies.
The Minister of Finance said that they will implement ANRF for basic research and model development. Interesting is the mention of “prototype” development as well as “basic research”. In general, prototype development refers to the “first stage of software development” before releasing the product to the market or for users. It is unclear how prototype development relates to basic science research. Does it mean that the government is only interested in translational research through technology? That is against the stated objectives of the ANRF. The government should clarify what kind of research it wants to support through ANRF.
ANRF is said to have been established to prioritize research facilities in universities and colleges. Most of India’s 40,000 higher education institutions are run by States and have limited funding opportunities. Government institutions get only 11% of the funds provided by DST and 65% of the funds go to IITs under the Union Government. ANRF wants to change this difference, but what is the mechanism?
In general, the distribution of funds has some increase, nothing exciting. A long-term demand from the scientific community is to prepare for higher government funding because the private sector has not shown much interest in investing in basic research.
TV Padma is a freelance science journalist.
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