NATIONAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION BILL – POLITY
News: Cabinet
approves Bill for National Research Foundation to make research more equitable
What's in the news?
● The
Union Cabinet approved the National Research Foundation (NRF) Bill, 2023, in
the Parliament.
Key takeaways:
● The
Bill will establish the National Research Foundation and pave the way for more private-sector participation in
research funding; as much as ₹36,000 crore is expected from the private
sector as investment into research over five years.
Features of National Research Foundation Bill, 2023:
1. Establishment of NRF:
● The
NRF Bill, upon approval by Parliament, will establish the National Research
Foundation.
● This
apex body will provide high-level strategic direction for scientific research
in the country, aligning with the recommendations of the National Education
Policy (NEP).
● The
estimated cost for NRF’s establishment and operation over five years (2023-2028) is approximately Rs. 50,000crore.
2. Administrative Department:
● The
Department of Science and Technology
(DST) will serve as the administrative department for NRF.
● A
distinguished Governing Board comprising eminent researchers and professionals
across various disciplines will govern the foundation.
3. Governing Board:
● The
Prime Minister will be the ex-officio
President of the Board, while the Union
Minister of Science & Technology and the Union Minister of Education
will serve as ex-officio Vice-Presidents.
● The
Principal Scientific Adviser to the
Government of India will chair the Executive Council, which will oversee NRF’s
functioning.
4. Collaboration and Participation:
● NRF
will facilitate collaborations between academia, industry, government
departments, and research institutions.
● It
will establish an interface mechanism to encourage active participation and
contributions from industries and state
governments, in addition to scientific and line ministries.
● The
foundation will focus on creating a policy framework and regulatory processes
to promote collaboration and enhance industry spending on R&D.
5. Repeal of Science and Engineering Research Board
(SERB):
● The
NRF Bill will also entail the repeal of the Science and Engineering Research
Board (SERB) established in 2008 through an act of Parliament.
● NRF
will subsume SERB and have an expanded mandate covering activities beyond those
of SERB.
6. Objective of NRF:
● The
objective of NRF is to ensure that scientific research was conducted and funded equitably and greater participation
from the private sector was forthcoming.
Significance of NRF:
1. Bridging the gap in the research ecosystem:
● The
NRF’s primary objective is to bridge the gap
between research and higher education in India, a dichotomy that has
limited the development of the nation’s scientific capabilities.
● The
foundation aims to build research capacities within Indian universities,
bringing together the realms of education and research.
2. Industry involvement in research:
● The
NRF will play a pivotal role in seeding,
nurturing and promoting research, innovation and development across universities,
colleges, research institutions, and R&D laboratories.
3. Funding for research activities:
● Modeled
on the highly successful US National Science Foundation, the NRF seeks to
integrate the funding of scientific projects, breaking away from the siloed
approach of the past.
● Until
now, research funding has been conducted by various government departments and
laboratories, leading to a lack of uniformity in infrastructure and funding.
● The
NRF’s budget will be about Rs 50,000 crore and about 70 percent of this budget
will be obtained from the private sector as research investments and the
remaining amount will come from the government.
4. Multidisciplinary approach for promotion of
research:
● In
addition to promoting research in natural sciences and engineering, the NRF
will also fund research in social
sciences, arts, and humanities.
● This
multidisciplinary approach is indicative of the foundation’s broad mandate and
commitment to address India’s pressing societal challenges.
5. Will promote the democratization of science
funding:
● The
NRF is also expected to promote the democratization of science funding by
shifting the focus from elite institutions to projects in peripheral, rural, and semi-urban areas.
● It
will create an interface mechanism so that, in addition to the scientific and
line ministries, the state governments and industries can also participate and
contribute to scientific R&D.
Challenges of NRF:
1. Insufficient funding:
● India’s
investment in research and innovation (R&I), as a percentage of GDP, has
steadily dropped from 0.84% in 2008 to about 0.69% in 2018; whereas it was 2.8% in the US, 2.1% in China, 4.3%
in Israel and 4.2% in South Africa.
2. Bias towards established researchers and
institutions:
● Higher
education institutions such as IITs get the lion’s share of all research
funding.
● The
current trend of promoting research in premier institutions should not be at
the cost of exclusion of research in other institutions of higher education.
● This
needs a separate effort of mentoring and joint research between the premier
institutions (like the IITs) and other institutions of higher education.
3. Few applications for patents:
● India
lags in the number of patents produced.
● According
to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), China made as many as
1.538 million patent applications as the US made 605,571 patent applications,
while India made a mere 45,057, of which over 70% were by non-resident Indians.
4. Fewer publications:
● A
2018 compilation of science and engineering indicators by the US National
Science Foundation showed that both the
US and China published at least four times as many articles as India in 2016.
5. Challenges in the private sector involvement in
R&D:
● Unlocking
the mystery of why the private sector in India hesitates to invest in research
and development is crucial in fostering progress and innovation.
● The
main obstacle for firms when it comes to innovation is the risk of imitation by
local competitors, which further disincentives investment in R&D.
● One
of the other reasons that private firms invest more heavily in R&D than the
government in the US and China is the caliber of talent that their higher
education institutions attract.
6. Government machinery and bureaucratic hurdles:
● Procuring
laboratory equipment can be a nightmare for researchers.
● The
present system is like a game of red tape roulette, where researchers must
first try their luck with Indian manufacturers. This leads to delays in the
availability of important research equipment.
In
an increasingly knowledge-based global
economy, the establishment of the National Research Foundation is a crucial
investment. The NRF’s inclusive,
democratic, and multidisciplinary approach ensures a broad-based
development of the nation’s research capabilities, promising transformative
impacts in the years to come.