Attributes of Indian science

In a piquant message to the researchers and aspiring students Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked them to “Dream, Imagine and Explore”. During the inauguration of 102nd Annual Science Conference Modi refrained from making eloquent promise of enhanced funding but apprised scientists of crucial challenges- water, energy and health care. Almost 80% of India’s imports include energy supplies.

Therefore NDA government at the helm of affairs was keen on making India self-reliant in terms of energy. It had set an ambitious goal of developing 100 gigawatts solar energy by 2020. Accordingly, it has been aggressively pushing forward the projects to jump start from the existing capacity of 3.7 gigawatt solar-capacity which is 1.4% of India’s total electricity generation. Some analysts were apprehensive about the feasibility of such ambitious approach.

Systemic problems of Indian science

Indian science is abetted by problems like poor-quality education, interference of bureaucracy and inadequate funding. These stifling conditions prompted numerous budding scientists to leave the country for greener pastures. Consequentially India has been conspicuously losing its intellectual treasure trove. Successive governments vouched to increase funding to research and development to 2% of GDP (gross domestic product). Unfortunately even the latest budget allocation too remained at a staggering low of less than 0.9% of GDP.

Government officials’ quips back scientists demand saying that India on an average spends around $150,000 per scientist per year which is comparable to other countries. Unable to stem the systemic problems plaguing the system and vie with its peer nations- whose financial allocation hovers around 2% of GDP, India lags behind in BRIC group. Two decades ago the proportion of GDP allocated to research and development (GERD) in India was more than China but now it is half of China.

Despite its huge population India has the lowest number of engineers and scientists in the world. In terms of absolute numbers India has four full-time researchers per 10,000 people and China has 18 researchers, in developed countries the number is 80. Another major stumbling block in Indian Universities is over-bureaucratization and entrenched red-tape leading to inordinate delays in obtaining equipment and material for research.

The collaboration between universities and industry is abysmally low and consequently the most prosperous business model of Laboratory (research)-industry- Market (innovation) is failing to find its foot hold in India. Further the burden of funding the research has to be borne by government as the investment of private companies in R&D is barely significant.

Deteriorating standards of education

While some scientists are hopeful of a bright future for Indian science others expressed great resentment over the sub-standard education. Appallingly, India is the only BRICS nation whose universities failed to make it to the top 200 institutions of the world. There are over 700 universities in India which include the elite institutions funded by the central government, 300 state universities and 200 private institutions.

The national scientific research Institutes and elite institutions are doing world-class research and publishing in high impact journals providing major fillip to India’s reputation. These institutes account for a major leap in India’s research output. But the state universities which are cash-starved account for majority of the science undergraduates. Unfortunately these institutes suffer from shortage of quality faculty, libraries and equipped laboratories.

While there is a sharp rise in the number of students pursuing higher education, institutions neither have the infrastructure nor financial support to harness the aspirations of the students. Beacons of hope The two major areas of crowning glory for Indian Science are the meticulously designed space missions and the incredibly low-priced vaccines.

The silver lining for Indian science in the recent past has been the resounding success of the ISRO’s (Indian Space Research Organisation) space programmes. Established in 1969, bracing failures during early days of inception ISRO has transformed into an epitome for exceptional alacrity, precision and deftness.

The organisation acclaimed international repute with its exceptionally economical MOM (Mars Orbiter Mission) or Mangalyaan. With space scientists mastering the construction of formidable cryogenic engines needed to lift-off satellites of over 4 tonnes, India is poised to emerge as a super power in space research. Rejuvenated by its successful debut of the Mars Mission, with strengthened resolve ISRO scientists are now gearing for launch of ASTROSTAT satellite, Chandrayaan-2 mission in 2017, and Aditya Mission 2018.

Chandrayaan-2, a follow-up of Chandrayaan-1 of 2008 has an ambitious agenda of studying of the composition of Moon and intends to send a lander, six wheeled rover and an orbiter to moon. Aditya Mission will study Sun’s corona. Another precious feather in India’s cap is the booming biotech industry. The entrepreneurial Indian scientists with their ingenuity achieved ground-breaking success in the field of vaccine production. Affordable healthcare is an elixir for a hugely a populated country like India.

The quintessential resources for a robust health care system are vaccines. The task of manufacturing indigenous vaccines at nominal prices was accomplished by enterprising young Indian scientists. Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) reached this milestone by developing Revac B+ hepatitis vaccines for USD 3 a dose (currently available for 30 cents).

Subsequently, several Indian biotech companies contributed enormously towards reducing the burden of public health care in India and other third world countries by developing affordable, quality vaccines against infectious diseases. India is now fondly hailed as the “Pharmacy of the developing World,” by global charity doctors without borders. Now India has attained marginal success in producing generic drugs through reverse engineering.

In 2014 US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued notices to some Indian companies that failed to meet the quality standards and drug efficiency. But now these are being slowly sorted out. Indian science especially the department of biotechnology is upbeat about Indian companies due to significant rise in number of small and medium sized biotech units.

Though Indian research is not completely bogged down by the institutional deficiencies but the quality of research is not on par with advanced countries. Interestingly, in terms of output indicators like the number of research papers published per the amount of money spent in dollars, India is one of the top performers in the World.

Propitiously the proportion of Indian students graduating in US and returning back has increased considerably offering a great hope for brighter prospects for research in India. Scientific publications have quadrupled from 2000 to 2013. Indian Science with all its inherent deficiencies and exemplary accomplishments is poised to reach new horizons is in dire need of visionary leaders to embark on a new journey.

By Ramaharitha Pusarla