Institute For The Future

India Makes a Major R&D Push

In a major address last week in Bangalore, Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh announced a major expansion of funding for science research and infrastructure in India. As the

 

Our Government has committed itself to doubling the financial allocations for science and technology from 1% of GDP to 2%. What we need today is a blueprint for the effective and creative utilization of these funds. A blueprint for the transformation of Indian science. A blueprint for making basic sciences and mathematics the preferred discipline of our school going and college going children.

 

 

Full text of the speech can be found here.

 

It's striking to see developing countries making systematic long-term investments in science and technology while the US government bails out financial firms and 20th century manufacturing industries. The recent appointment of Steven Chu to lead the Department of Energy is a re-assuring move, but let's hope that in an era of collapsing oil prices he can muster the political willpower to put real funding into clean and green alternative energy technologies.