With barely two months left for the Union government to announce its Budget proposals, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh indicated raising the annual expenditure on science and technology to 2% of the GDP.
Scientists are upbeat about this move after the Prime Minister?s statement. Singh in his inaugural speech at the 94th Indian Science Congress here on Wednesday, admitted the need for setting up ?world class institutions? in the country and assured the galaxy of scientists : ?We are committed to increase the annual expenditure on science and technology from less than 1% of our GDP to 2% of the GDP in the next five years.?
Singh also said he intended to effect a ?reverse brain drain? by attracting best and the brightest scientists working abroad to return home and participate in ?the adventure of building a knowledge-based economy here.? He added that he had extended this invitation to the Indian diaspora in the previous year while speaking at the platinum jubilee celebrations of the National Academy of Sciences.
The Prime Minister proposed introduction of a system of international peer review in the the country?s research labs to help maintain and improve standards.
He expressed concerns over the decline in the number of students enrolling in schools and colleges for basic sciences and suggested measures to attract young talents. Singh said the government was examining all suggestions made for creation of new institutional infrastructure.
Union science and technology minister Kapil Sibal spelled out the programme for setting up a National Technology Management Centre in Biotechnology with 10 regional technology transfer cells, a Biotechnology Industry and Development Assessment. The council will further facilitate interaction between academia, research and industry.
The minister, however, said: ?The environmental impact of biotechnology is yet to be evaluated and many questions, in particular those related to bio-safety, remain unanswered?.We need to seriously debate on this issue.?
Sibal also assured that an Institute of Translational Research in Health would be set up to help dovetail outputs in genomics research to clinical trial stages. He said there was a need to set up agri-food clusters in collaboration with the industry, similar to the ones set in Punjab.