Drive innovation

Tall targets for high-end manufacturing will mean little unless pvt companies get serious about R&D

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THE GOVERNMENT FREQUENTLY proclaims that it has placed research and development at the heart of the journey towards Viksit Bharat@2047. In a press statement issued in November, it highlighted that R&D expenditure had "more than doubled" from ₹60,196 crore in 2010-11 to 1.27 lakh crore in 2020-21. While the stated emphasis on research and innovation as pillars of manufacturing ambition is welcome, neither the numbers cited nor the ground reality offer much cause for celebration. A doubling of absolute R&D spending over more than a decade in a fast-growing economy that seeks to rely on technology-led production does not signal progress-it points to stagnation. In real terms, it likely represents a decline. This neglect becomes even more striking when viewed alongside the fact that the government sector still accounts for nearly two-thirds of total R&D expenditure. Corporate India's persistent reluctance to commit meaningful capital to technology creation is both glaring and indefensible.