Improving India’s Science & Engineering research capacity

According to a study by research publications, India is among the world’s top countries in terms of research output however the countries’ universities have fallen in case of quality of research. There has been a growth of 11% from 4%, between 2008 to 2018. Most of the research work is being contributed by research institutes as opposed to universities, which should account for the growth in research. Major institutes include IISC Bengaluru, ISI, Kolkata, IITs and CSIR Institute , while the overall contribution of Indian universities is minimal. Funding is a major hurdle with projects running hard to obtain them.

Comparing India & China

In terms of output, it is China that comes out with new papers, it is India which takes the lead in case of research quality. India has seen an increased contribution in chemistry, however the contribution of health science, computer science and medical specialities has been low.

Strengthening applied research

There is a need to strengthen the capabilities in applied research, which should help the country progress. There has been a case of rising papers in chemistry which is helping with drug discovery. It is the result of increased research in chemistry and should be followed in other domains as well.