New Delhi: Government of India on Thursday i.e. January 7, 2010 has unveiled its plan of raising the expenditure on Research and Development (R&D) to 2% of its GDP, with its focus on five critical areas, including energy and food security.
Minister of State for Earth Sciences Prithviraj Chavan at a seminar on 'Harnessing Nanotechnology Business: Diaspora Contribution' made the announcement that presently only one percent of our GDP is spend on scientific research and development. However, we intend to take this to two percent. He added that the country would focus on five key challenges in the future, those are energy security, food security, water availability and quality, affordable healthcare for all and (counter) terrorism.
According to Mr Chavan tracing the development of science and technology in India since independence in 1947, said there had been a significant jump in the output of journals since 2002, a key indicator of the state of research in the country. From 15th place globally in 2002, it has climbed to 10th place last year and hope to go to ninth place, ahead of Spain, this year. He also said the country is not satisfied with this and aims to go higher.
