Page 216 - Low Carbon Development in China and India
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The total R&D spending in India is about 0.88 per cent of the national 3.1
GDP of 1.21 billion USD (INR 72.62 billion) (DST, 2013).1 Of this around
2/3rd of the funding was done through the public sector and the rest
was from the private sector. Of the various sources of funding for
R&D and S&T in India—Central government allocation made through
the Planning Commission (now NITI Aayog), State governments,
and the private and business sector—the major share is contributed
by the Central government. Of the total R&D expenditure by major
Indian scientific agencies, a sizeable chunk (~61 per cent) is cornered
by strategic sectors, i.e., defence, atomic energy, and space, leaving a
somewhat deficient share for the civilian S&T in which the ICAR and
CSIR are the largest recipients. Figures 1.2 & 1.3 provide some key R&D
related statistics of India vis-à-vis some other countries of the world.
It is important to note that whereas R&D investment as percentage of
GDP in India increased marginally from 0.3 per cent in 1980 to around
0.8 per cent in 2011 while for China the increase has been substantial,
from 0.1 per cent in 1980 to around 1.84 per cent in 2011.
With regard to breakdown of government expenditure on R&D
by type of research, the relative share of basic research and applied
research to total R&D expenditure declined from around 28 per cent
and 38 per cent, respectively, in 2003 to 26 per cent and 36 per cent,
respectively, in 2010 whereas, the share of experimental development
to total R&D expenditure witnessed an increase from 34 per cent in
2003 to 38 per cent in 2010 (DST 2013). There has been a gradual change
in the R&D scenario with the focus of the government shifting towards
commercially oriented R&D and private-public sector partnerships.
A major perceptible change in government R&D is that the mission-
oriented projects are replacing open-ended research programmes.
The Twelfth Plan Approach Paper calls for launching mission mode
projects, addressing national needs and priorities through extensive
participation of stakeholders, in the areas of health, water, energy,
food, and environment security with the objective to achieve the goals
and targets in a defined time frame.
India’s global share of scientific publication in the year 2008 is
about 3.7 per cent with a global ranking of 9. In comparison, China has
achieved spectacular success in increasing its publication standing at
second position in the global ranking, with a global share of scientific
publication of around 11 per cent (See Figure 1.4). Further, China
1 Research and Development Statistics 2011–12, Department of Science and
Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, New
Delhi, September 2013.
Chapter 1 Low Carbon Technology and Innovation Policy 181
GDP of 1.21 billion USD (INR 72.62 billion) (DST, 2013).1 Of this around
2/3rd of the funding was done through the public sector and the rest
was from the private sector. Of the various sources of funding for
R&D and S&T in India—Central government allocation made through
the Planning Commission (now NITI Aayog), State governments,
and the private and business sector—the major share is contributed
by the Central government. Of the total R&D expenditure by major
Indian scientific agencies, a sizeable chunk (~61 per cent) is cornered
by strategic sectors, i.e., defence, atomic energy, and space, leaving a
somewhat deficient share for the civilian S&T in which the ICAR and
CSIR are the largest recipients. Figures 1.2 & 1.3 provide some key R&D
related statistics of India vis-à-vis some other countries of the world.
It is important to note that whereas R&D investment as percentage of
GDP in India increased marginally from 0.3 per cent in 1980 to around
0.8 per cent in 2011 while for China the increase has been substantial,
from 0.1 per cent in 1980 to around 1.84 per cent in 2011.
With regard to breakdown of government expenditure on R&D
by type of research, the relative share of basic research and applied
research to total R&D expenditure declined from around 28 per cent
and 38 per cent, respectively, in 2003 to 26 per cent and 36 per cent,
respectively, in 2010 whereas, the share of experimental development
to total R&D expenditure witnessed an increase from 34 per cent in
2003 to 38 per cent in 2010 (DST 2013). There has been a gradual change
in the R&D scenario with the focus of the government shifting towards
commercially oriented R&D and private-public sector partnerships.
A major perceptible change in government R&D is that the mission-
oriented projects are replacing open-ended research programmes.
The Twelfth Plan Approach Paper calls for launching mission mode
projects, addressing national needs and priorities through extensive
participation of stakeholders, in the areas of health, water, energy,
food, and environment security with the objective to achieve the goals
and targets in a defined time frame.
India’s global share of scientific publication in the year 2008 is
about 3.7 per cent with a global ranking of 9. In comparison, China has
achieved spectacular success in increasing its publication standing at
second position in the global ranking, with a global share of scientific
publication of around 11 per cent (See Figure 1.4). Further, China
1 Research and Development Statistics 2011–12, Department of Science and
Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, New
Delhi, September 2013.
Chapter 1 Low Carbon Technology and Innovation Policy 181
