Upgrade R&D statistics for superior policy formulation

India aspires to become an innovation-driven economy. But when it comes to knowing how much the country actually investsin research and development (R&D), itstill relies onan outdated data system. This is a significant handicap in formulating effective science and technology policies, especially when the government hasset an ambitious target of raising national R&D spending to 2% of GDP by 2030.

- SUNIL MANI

Thebiennial R&D Statistics survey by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) through its National Science and Technology Management Information System (NSTMIS) is the sole official source of national data on R&D activity. Since 1973, it has provided information on expenditure, personnel, patents and institutional performance across roughly 8,000 organizations. Yet, this once robust system is now struggling to capture the growing complexity and scale of India’s innovation landscape. The latest NSTMIS round, launched in December 2024, highlights a chronic weakness—low participation by private firms. While government laboratories and research institutions achieved a response rate of about 73%, only about 35% of firms registered with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and fewer than one in 10 multinational corporations took part. Industry representatives cite several reasons: ambiguity in defining R&D expenditure, lengthy reporting formats and concerns over confidentiality. The result is a dataset that fails to reflect the true extent of private-sector research.

Policymakers rely on these figures to design incentives and measure progress. Without credible data, it is impossible to judge whether fiscal measures such as weighted tax deductions or targeted funding are achieving their intended outcomes.