Centrally funded institution systems contributed 67.54% of India’s total national research output during 2001-2020, a study conducted by the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) revealed.
The study published in ‘Current Science’ was conducted by the Department of Computer Science, BHU, which analysed the contribution of major centrally funded institution systems to India’s total scientific research output.
According to the findings of the study, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) system was the largest contributor in terms of research papers with 152,276 during 2001–2020.
It was followed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) with 99,430 papers, central universities with 97,524, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) with 77,819, National Institutes of Technology (NITs) with 46,034 and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) with 44,733.
The contribution of major centrally funded institution systems to India’s total research output over the previous two decades increased from 62.46% in 2001-2006 to 72.7% in 2016-2020, the study further said.
The top six, including the IITs, CSIR, central universities, DAE, NITs and the ICAR contributed over 50% of the total national output, the study added.
The individual research output of the group of institutions also increased over the period under review, as per the study. It said IITs, NITs, Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) and Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) showed rapid growth in research output with a two-fold increase in the number of publications between 2011–2015 and 2016–2020.
Furthermore, the research observed that the proportionate share of IITs in the overall national output increased from 12.56% in 2001-2005 to 18.72% in 2016-2020. On the other hand, the proportionate contribution of the CSIR system fell to 9.14% in 2016-2020 from 12.43% in 2001-2005.
The Indian centrally funded institutional systems comprise a diverse set of institutions and institution systems. The study grouped them into three categories: ministries, departments and autonomous organisations under them; higher education institutes funded by the Centre; and councils and agencies maintaining different institutions.
The scientists computed the standard indicators of total research output, proportionate share in the overall national output and compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) for all the institution groups.
The various results were computed for the 16 major identified institution systems, the proportionate contribution of each institution system to India’s total research output identified and the data divided into four different blocks of five years each, the study said.
The Indian research and development (R&D) system consists of various organisations such as universities, government research laboratories, autonomous institutions, private research laboratories and centres, among others.
It should be noted that the study did not ascertain the proportionate contribution of the centrally funded and privately funded institutions and institution systems in the total research output.
With inputs from PTI