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Modern India has had a strong focus on science and technology, realising that it is a key element for economic growth. India ranks third among the most attractive investment destinations for technology transactions in the world. With more and more multinational companies setting up their R&D centres in India, the sector has seen an uptrend in investment in recent years.
India is among the top countries globally in the field of scientific research, positioned as one of the top five nations in the field of space exploration. The country has regularly undertaken space missions, including missions to the moon and the famed Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). India is likely to take a leading role in launching satellites for the SAARC nations, generating revenue by offering its space facilities for use to other countries.
The government has introduced multiple policies aimed at projecting India as a science and technology powerhouse and promoting both public and private sector involvement in the R&D practice. As a result, India’s gross expenditure on R&D (GERD) has been consistently increasing over the years. The government has also implemented several fellowship schemes to nurture the human capacity for advanced research in the country.
By 2022, R&D expenditure is targeted to reach about 2% of the country’s GDP. The engineering R&D and product development market in India is forecast to post a CAGR of 12% to reach US$ 63 billion by 2025, from US$ 31 billion in 2019. As per the Economic Survey 2022, India’s gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) as a percentage of GDP stood at 0.66%.
IT spending in India will grow 7% YoY to reach US$ 101.8 billion in 2022, compared to U$ 81.89 billion in 2021. India’s medical technology sector is forecast to reach US$ 9.6 billion in 2022.
In FY21, there were 5,018 R&D projects, 2,528 fellowships, 3,702 publications, 30,532 ongoing projects and 797 innovations in India.
In FY21, the science and technology sector added 1,497,501 employees, becoming India’s top employment generator.
Accenture offers a framework for assessing the economic effect of AI for selected G20 countries in its latest AI research studies and forecasts that AI will raise India's annual growth rate by 1.3% by 2035. India's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy prepared by NITI Aayog outlined a way forward to harness the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in different fields.
Some of the recent developments in the field of science and technology in India are as follows:
In November 2022, Norwest Venture Partners agreed to invest US$ 32 million in Cerebral Technologies, which specialises in AI, big data, and enterprise cloud among other technologies. In exchange, Norwest Venture Partners will acquire a minority stake in the company.
India ranks third among the most innovative lower-middle-income economies in the world. Rising per capita income in India will bring boom in R&D investment in the country with multiple foreign players shifting R&D bases to India. R&D investment and multiple government policies have helped Indian companies overcome tight competition with affordable products internationally.
India plans to move forward with developing its science and technology sector by collaborating with other countries. India has active bilateral science and technology (S&T) programs of cooperation with more than 45 countries, including dedicated programs for Africa, ASEAN, BRICS, EU and neighboring countries. In 2021, India also collaborated with Denmark and agreed for a five-year plan to implement green strategic partnership for enhancing partnership in various areas, including science and technology.
India is aggressively working towards establishing itself as a leader in industrialisation and technological development. Significant developments in the nuclear energy sector are likely as India looks to expand its nuclear capacity. Moreover, nanotechnology is expected to transform India’s pharmaceutical industry. The agriculture sector is also likely to undergo a major revamp with the government investing heavily for a technology-driven green revolution. The Government of India, through the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy-2013, among other things, aspires to position India among the world’s top five scientific powers.