Need to boost R&D spending to 2.4% to achieve GDP growth of 9% p.a. & to become $10 trillion economy by 2034: Science & Technology Minister

India's economy would need to collectively ramp up its research and development (R&D) spending from mere 0.8 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2013 to 2.4 per cent by 2034 i.e. similar to developed markets of Korea (3.8 per cent), US (2.7 per cent) and China (1.9 per cent), minister of state for science & technology and earth sciences, Mr Y.S. Chowdary said at an ASSOCHAM event.

A path driven by R&D and innovation capital will be essential for India to manage its inherent challenges and to grow its GDP by 9 per cent per annum to become a $10 trillion economy over the next two decades, said Mr Chowdary while inaugurating '3rd Innovation Summit-cum-Excellence Awards: Innovative India@2020,' organised by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

 

Focus on innovation-driven solutions to attain aforesaid growth targets should not only be restricted to new technologies and products but also include designing innovative processes and business models that challenge the status quo and help achieve inclusive growth, said Mr Chowdary.

Investment in human and physical capital together with investment in R&D and innovation are key requirements to attain nine per cent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) by 2034 and can help generate 240 million new jobs over next 20 years which is required to meet India's demographic needs, said the minister.

India can become world's third largest economy by 2034 after US and China if it can achieve a nine per cent per annum GDP growth trajectory through adoption of technological and business model innovations thereby providing a new sustainable development model to the world, further said Mr Chowdary.

The minister also said that it is the inactivity, inertia and lack of momentum are key concerns in certain areas of science and technology evidenced by absence of cutting-edge technologies to many of societal problems. We are still groping in the dark by looking for indigenous solutions to address our local concerns.

Frugal innovations are what we require, if we continue to engage in imitative and repetitive research, the gap between what we should do and what we continue to do will increase year after year, said Mr Chowdary. Technology should be a facilitator of inclusive and sustainable growth in a country like ours with so many people below poverty line.

We need to focus on rural India along with hand-holding to the grassroots innovations, besides we need cost-effective solutions as there is a need for sustainable and economically-viable innovation, he added.

In his address at the ASSOCHAM Summit, Prof. K. Vijayraghavan, secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology said, The world has changed dramatically while our institutions are stuck in the previous generations.

In the last 5-10 years there has been a dramatic change in the way innovation has to be done, said Prof. Vijayraghvan. Our institutions today are caught in a completely cocooned, self-centred view of the world.

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