India’s moonshot moment for research and innovation

India has long grappled with an uncomfortable truth: Our research and development spending, despite being the world’s fifth-largest economy and a global talent hub, remains among the lowest in the world.

- Kunal Bahl

At under 0.7% of GDP, our national research and development spend pales not only in comparison with countries like the US (3.5%) or China (2.7%), but also with smaller economies such as South Korea (5%) and Brazil (1.2%). This has had a compounding effect. It has limited our scientific ambition, discouraged patient capital from entering deep-tech, and left India too often a consumer rather than a creator of advanced technology.

Against this backdrop, the government's announcement of a ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) scheme is both timely and transformative. It is not just an economic intervention but an institutional one. Structured through the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), the scheme aims to correct a deficit in India’s innovation ecosystem. It is a bold signal of intent to move from being a user of imported technology to a nation that creates and commercialises its own, and eventually, exports it to the world.

The scheme to be implemented through a Special Purpose Vehicle will have oversight from an empowered group of secretaries and will be chaired by the Prime Minister (PM). The architecture signals not just administrative backing, but clear political ownership, suggesting that this is not a routine policy measure but a national priority.