Dr Jitendra Singh
Today, the world is taken aback by India’s amazing scientific potential and prowess that was dormant and unnoticed, but was waiting to emerge whenever provided with an enabling milieu and supportive leadership. It was at that destined moment that Narendra Modi arrived as the prime minister (PM). From gifting the first Covid-19 DNA vaccine to the world to the Chandrayaan mission, it is the evidence-based imprint of Modi’s government that universally established India as a nation to reckon with. In the last nine years, India has come up with a record number of national policies related to science, technology and innovation (STI) and launched a string of missions.
As per the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) data, averaged over the last 10 years, nearly 65% of total research funds are being given to institutions of national importance such as Indian Institutes of Science, Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), and Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, and only 11% of funds are provided to state universities, where the number of researchers is much larger. This is because the present system of funding is grant driven. Similarly, the research infrastructure in most state universities is poorer compared to national labs. The academia-industry partnership and international collaboration in our universities have been rather inadequate.
It was the vision of PM Modi to establish a truly transformational Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), which will not only address some of the big challenges of the present research and development (R&D) ecosystem but also provide a long-term R&D vision, positioning India as a global R&D leader in the next five years.
ANRF will provide high-level strategic direction for research, innovation and entrepreneurship in the fields of natural sciences, including mathematical sciences, engineering and technology, environmental and earth sciences, health and agriculture. It will also encourage scientific and technological interfaces of humanities and social sciences to promote, monitor and provide support as required for such research. ANRF will seed, grow and promote R&D and foster a culture of research and innovation throughout India’s universities, colleges, research institutions, and R&D laboratories.
The department of science and technology (DST) will be the administrative department of ANRF, which will be governed by a board consisting of eminent researchers and professionals across disciplines with the PM as the ex-officio president and the Union ministers of science and education as ex-officio vice-presidents. ANRF’s functioning will be governed by an executive council chaired by the principal scientific adviser to the government. ANRF will forge collaborations among the industry, academia, and government departments and research institutions, and create an interface mechanism for the participation and contribution of industries and state governments, in addition to the scientific and line ministries. It will focus on creating a policy framework and putting in place regulatory processes that can encourage collaboration and increased spending by the industry on R&D.
ANRF will be established at a total estimated cost of ?50,000 crores during five years (2023-28) with three components: A SERB fund of ?4,000 crore; an ANRF fund of ?10,000 crore out of which 10% ( ?1,000 crore) will be earmarked for innovation.
The innovation fund will be utilised for R&D in partnership with the private sector and the ?36,000 crore fund will be contributed by industry, philanthropist organisations, and international institutions.
The Centre currently provides funds of ?800 crore per year to SERB with little or no contributions from the private sector. In the proposed ANRF, the government contribution is proposed to be increased nearly 3.5 times from ?800 crore to ?2,800 crore per year. The private sector contributions in the proposed ANRF are being introduced to the tune of ?36,000 crore for five years, at nearly ?7,200 crore per year.
ANRF will prove to be one of India’s most transformational steps towards achieving India’s global R&D leadership and making India atmanirbhar (self reliant) in technology in the years to come.
(The author is Minister of State (independent charge), Ministry of Science and Technology, Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office; Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space.)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
