By Rajesh Mehta and Badri Narayanan Gopalakrishnan
Gone are the days when nations could make their worldwide competitiveness primarily based on low labor expenses or low-priced/abundant all-natural sources. The new innovation era only favors these who invest their sources and believed method deeply in science and technologies. Renowned Scientist and Intellectual Dr. R.A. Mashelkar says: “India needs science that solves, technology that transforms and innovation that impacts. Our new policies must be aspirational in terms of India creating new frontiers of actionable science, technology and innovation that may bring rapid, radical yet sustainable transformation.
The pandemic has made the nation realise the importance of science as a saviour. The investment in science and technology, which has hovered around 0.7% must be raised progressively in the decade of 2020s to 2% of GDP, that has been consistently promised over the past 3 decades.” Israel leads the way with 4.95%, thanks to their innovation ecosystem, which entails public ‘investment’ in revolutionary concepts by the private sector, with the government as a stakeholder in their returns. Other top nations incorporate South Korea (4.8%), Switzerland (3.4%), Japan (3.3%), USA (2.8%), China (2.2%), EU members (2-3%).
India, which is expecting a second wave of COVID-19 has lately announced numerous reforms in numerous sectors The government has now decided to formulate a complete Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy (STIP) 2020. As Dr Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST, puts it: “STIP 2020, India’s fifth national Policy for Science, Technology and Innovation aims to capture the aspirations of the entire nation through a decentralized, bottom-up and inclusive approach. From open science to funding priorities; critical human capital to equity and inclusion; strategic technologies to traditional knowledge systems; science diplomacy to science communication – this policy promises a renewed STI ecosystem for an Atmanirbhar Bharat.”
This policy with its decentralized manner of formation may well reorient STIP in terms of sectoral concentrate, the way the analysis is performed, and technologies are created and deployed for socio-financial welfare. The STIP 2020 is primarily based on 4 interlinked tracks. Track 1 offers with an comprehensive public and professional consultation method by means of a devoted platform. Track 2 entails professional-driven thematic consultations to feed informed suggestions into the policy primarily based on scientific proof. Track 3 entails consultations with ministries and stakeholders when Track 4 constitutes an apex level multi-stakeholder consultation.
STIP 2020 integrated wellness as the 11th thematic group (TG), focusing on reaching inexpensive and accessible healthcare for all citizens. Needs of particular sectors of innovation inside the healthcare domain have been separately addressed. The policy also stresses strengthening the key healthcare technique and preventive healthcare of the nation. It also focuses on worldwide collaborations.
The pandemic has had a lengthy-lasting impact on the educational sector. This predicament demands the use of virtual classrooms which we are not made use of to prior to. To adapt to this alter more than to a digitally-driven planet requires technologies and innovation. STIP 2020 has integrated education in the 6th TG. School, university, and vocational education are the principal concentrate places of this thematic group. The policy recommends methods to accelerate analysis and innovation in the greater educational institutions, boost the education technique and teaching-and-studying by means of analysis, and make education at all levels much more inclusive and connected with the economies and societies of the planet.
Technologies can be transferred from other nations. For instance, USA is a nation with which India has a trade surplus. India and the USA have been partners in numerous places such as science and technologies. Both nations think that science, technologies, and innovation are crucial tools that may well assistance to address worldwide challenges such as climate alter, wellness, education, and so forth. They are involved in creating public-private partnerships that market science and technologies-primarily based innovation. The thematic group 13 i.e International S&T engagement and STIP diplomacy concentrate on reaching collective and inclusive worldwide improvement by means of international engagement by maximizing the scope of indigenization and sustainability for national advancement and promotion of worldwide commons.
The STIP 2020 would additional strengthen the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) and U.S.-India Science and Technology Endowment Fund which have supplied roughly $3 million to fund hundreds of exchange visits and assistance technologies commercialization by means of U.S.-India joint ventures. The part of Indian diaspora need to not be underestimated, as articulated by Sanjay Bhattacharyya, Secretary (CPV & OIA), MEA: “Technology and innovation are principal drivers of economic growth and social dynamics. Our future aspirations may be realized when we are able to prepare our people for a scientific temperament to take advantage of the process of change. The Indian diaspora, which has been at the forefront of scientific achievements, may play an important role in this endeavour.”
Apart from these sectors, STIP 2020 can also be effective to underutilized technologies such as AI, blockchain, and so forth. More analysis on these linked technologies may well positively effect numerous industries such as defense, education, wellness and so forth. All these may well be a booster for Indian providers as these offer technological and scientific infrastructures for their improvement. Considering the present trend, work will have to to taken to critique the policy every single a single year as the planet is altering at a quickly pace.
Therefore, in basic, STIP 2020 may well assistance attain the aim of Atma Nirbhar Bharat. The concentrate will have to be on self sufficiency of production and need to also take into consideration acquiring patents, IPR and so forth., for the new technologies. Telecommunication, semiconductor and electronics sector need to be strengthened as it has now develop into a core sector that is critical for a country’s improvement. Proper fund allocation for R&D, a reformed bureaucracy, tax advantages and industry access for the infant providers need to also be regarded as. Government will have to encourage R&D grants to private providers like in Israel, China & the US.We can hope that STIP 2020 may well be a option to the important troubles of our nation and take our nation to heights. Furthermore, the present government’s concentrate on indigenous knowhow (AYUSH ministry for instance), may well also assistance India shine globally standing on its personal merit and distinctive technologies primarily based on timeless ancient wisdom, curated/enhanced by modern day science and technologies.
(Rajesh Mehta is a Leading International Consultant & Columnist operating on Market Entry, Innovation & Public Policy. Badri Narayanan Gopalakrishnan is Founder Director, Infinite Sum Modelling, and affiliate faculty member at University of Washington Seattle. Views are private.)