Indian research can shape the world

1. At a Glance

• Core argument (op-ed, The Hindu, 7 Oct 2026): India should stop defining its technology goals by what other countries built decades ago. The authors call this habit "catch-up-itis". They say India should instead use the growing overlap of science and technology to produce original work, and that national laboratories must be "liberated from insularity" for this to happen [1].
• Authors: K. VijayRaghavan, former Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India and chair of Ashoka University's Science Advisory Council, and Archish Mittal, Vice-President, Iron Pillar [1].
• Why it matters for UPSC: It ties directly to GS-III (S&T, indigenisation of technology). It also gives a policy frame for evaluating ANRF (2023 Act), the ₹1 lakh crore RDI Scheme (2025) and India's low GERD of about 0.64% of GDP [3][7][9].

2. Why in the News

• An op-ed titled "Indian research can shape the world" ran on Page 11 of The Hindu (Chennai edition) on 7 October 2026 [1].
• Its main claim is that most of India's national labs are "poorly accessible to researchers, students and companies outside their walls" [1].
• Policy context: ANRF is moving funding away from a few established institutions [2], and the RDI Scheme, approved by Cabinet on 1 July 2025, aims to draw private capital into R&D [7].

3. Background & Evolution

• The "missed buses" debate: India often regrets lagging in aircraft, advanced weapons, new materials and biotechnology [1].
• Cost of catch-up: Late arrival, paying for licences and know-how, and building on foundations laid elsewhere. These costs come back with every new technology wave [1].
• Conceptual shift the authors identify: Science (discovery, curiosity, abstract mathematics) and technology (tools to transform the world) were long treated as separate, with technology following science. The authors call the change in this relationship "tectonic" [1].
• Milestones:
• 2010–11 → 2020–21: GERD more than doubled, from ₹60,196.75 crore to ₹1,27,380.96 crore [10].
• 2023: The Anusandhan National Research Foundation Bill, 2023 passed Parliament; the Rajya Sabha adopted it by voice vote [5][6].
• February 2024: The ANRF Act was notified [3].
• 1 July 2025: Cabinet approved the RDI Scheme (₹1 lakh crore) [7][8].
• 2025–26: The Economic Survey 2025–26 put GERD at 0.64% of GDP [9].

4. Core Static Facts

Item	Fact
ANRF statutory base	ANRF Act, 2023; notified Feb 2024 [3]
ANRF mandate	Seed, grow and promote R&D and a research culture across universities, colleges, research institutions and R&D labs [3]
ANRF funding target	₹50,000 crore over 2023–28 (ANRF Fund, Innovation Fund, Science & Engineering Research Fund, Special Purpose Funds) [3]
Non-govt share	₹36,000 crore (~80%) expected from industry and philanthropists, domestic and foreign [4]
ANRF first calls (5)	PMECRG (PM Early Career Research Grant), EV-Mission, Inclusive Research Grant (IRG), PAIR (Partnerships for Accelerated Innovation and Research), JC Bose Grant [4]
RDI Scheme	₹1 lakh crore; Cabinet approval 1 July 2025; administered via DST [7][8]
RDI instrument	Long-tenor financing or refinancing at low or nil interest, plus growth and risk capital for sunrise and strategic sectors [7][8]
GERD	0.64% of GDP (Economic Survey 2025–26); generally 0.6–0.7% [9][11]
ANRF add-on	₹200-crore MAHA Water Mission to support start-ups [2]

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Scientific / Technological

• Catch-up keeps India dependent on foundations built abroad. Where science and technology now overlap, India has a chance to lead [1].
• If national labs stay closed to outside researchers, students and firms, their equipment and expertise are underused [1].

Economic

• Catch-up is expensive: licence and know-how payments come back with every technology wave [1].
• ANRF expects about 80% of its funds from non-government sources, and the RDI Scheme offers concessional capital to the private sector. Both reflect a shift towards private-led R&D [4][7].
• GERD doubled in a decade [10] but has stayed at about 0.64% of GDP [9].

Governance / Administrative

• Insularity in national labs is an institutional-design problem: access rules, collaboration norms and how industry gets in [1].
• ANRF was set up because research funding had concentrated in a few established institutions, leaving smaller universities, start-ups and MSMEs out [2].

Social / Equity

• The Inclusive Research Grant and the stated aim of "democratising research funding" target regional and institutional imbalances [2][4].
• The PM Early Career Research Grant supports young researchers [4].

Strategic

• The RDI Scheme explicitly targets technological self-reliance in strategic technologies [7][8].
• The "missed buses" the authors list (aircraft, advanced weapons, new materials) are defence-critical [1].

6. Recent Developments (last 12–18 months)

• 1 Jul 2025: Cabinet approved the ₹1 lakh crore RDI Scheme for strategic and sunrise domains [7].
• 2025: DST set up an RDI Cell to run the scheme [8]. Parliament discussed the scheme's focus on deep-tech areas [12].
• Economic Survey 2025–26: GERD at 0.64% of GDP [9].
• 2026: ANRF launched the ₹200-crore MAHA Water Mission for start-ups, presented as part of "democratising research funding" [2].
• 7 Oct 2026: VijayRaghavan–Mittal op-ed called for opening up national labs [1].

7. Prelims Hooks

• ANRF was established under the ANRF Act, 2023, notified in February 2024 [3].
• The Rajya Sabha passed the ANRF Bill, 2023 by voice vote [6].
• ANRF's targeted funding for 2023–28 is ₹50,000 crore [3].
• About ₹36,000 crore (~80%) of ANRF funds is expected from non-government sources [4].
• PAIR stands for Partnerships for Accelerated Innovation and Research, an ANRF programme [4].
• PMECRG stands for Prime Minister Early Career Research Grant, under ANRF [4].
• The JC Bose Grant is among ANRF's first five calls [4].
• The RDI Scheme outlay is ₹1 lakh crore, approved by Cabinet on 1 July 2025 [7].
• RDI Scheme finance comes as long-tenor loans at low or nil interest, not as grants [7].
• The nodal department for the RDI Scheme is the Department of Science & Technology [8].
• India's GERD is 0.64% of GDP (Economic Survey 2025–26) [9].
• GERD rose from ₹60,196.75 crore (2010–11) to ₹1,27,380.96 crore (2020–21) [10].
• The MAHA Water Mission (₹200 crore) is an ANRF start-up initiative [2].

8. Why Doubling the Money Did Not Raise the Share

• The rupee amount grew, but so did the economy
• GERD (Gross Expenditure on Research and Development, meaning all R&D spending in the country by government, companies and universities) more than doubled, from ₹60,196.75 crore in 2010–11 to ₹1,27,380.96 crore in 2020–21 [10].
• But it is still only about 0.64% of GDP [9], and has generally stayed between 0.6% and 0.7% [11].

• So R&D spending has only grown at about the same speed as the economy. India is not putting a bigger share of its income into research.

• Why this matters for the op-ed's argument

• The authors want India to produce original work instead of copying [1].
• Original frontier work costs more and takes longer than buying licences. A share that stays flat at about 0.64% [9] leaves little room to fund many long, risky projects.
• In an answer, quote both numbers together. The rupee figure alone makes the story look better than it is.

9. Can Private Money Really Fill 80% of ANRF?

• ANRF's plan depends on money it does not control
• Of ANRF's ₹50,000 crore target for 2023–28 [3], about ₹36,000 crore (around 80%) is expected from industry and philanthropists [4].
• That leaves only about ₹14,000 crore that the government itself has committed.

• ANRF cannot force a company to give. If industry gives less, the fund simply becomes smaller.

• Indian industry's record does not yet match this hope

• The business enterprise sector (companies) has paid for only about 40% of India's GERD over the last five years [13].

• So the ANRF plan expects companies to provide about 80% of one fund's money, when they currently provide about 40% of national R&D spending.

• Public sector firms spend the least

• In 2020–21, public sector R&D units spent only 0.30% of their sales turnover (total sales income) on R&D. Private sector units spent 1.46% [13].
• Government-owned companies are the firms the state can most easily direct, yet they spend about one-fifth as much per rupee of sales as private firms.
• This weakens the claim that the problem lies only with private industry.

10. Why Cheap Loans May Not Reach the Riskiest Research

• The RDI Scheme is mainly lending money, not giving it
• The ₹1 lakh crore RDI Scheme offers long-tenor loans (loans repaid over many years) or refinancing at low or nil interest [7].

• A loan still has to be paid back. A firm can use one only if it expects to earn money in the future.

• Original research is the hardest thing to repay a loan from

• The op-ed asks for original work where science and technology meet [1]. Such work often fails, or takes many years to reach a product.

• A firm doing this kind of work may have no steady income to repay a loan. So loans fit late-stage, near-market projects better than early discovery.

• What the scheme does do, in fairness

• The scheme also provides growth and risk capital (investment money that accepts the chance of loss) for sunrise and strategic sectors [7][8].
• The open question is how much of the ₹1 lakh crore goes to this risk capital and how much to plain loans. Ask this in a Mains answer instead of calling the scheme a full answer to low GERD.

11. The Case for Catching Up First

• The strongest objection to the op-ed
• Catching up is not always a mistake. Learning a technology that already exists builds skilled people, factories and suppliers. Original work later needs all three.
• With GERD at about 0.64% of GDP [9], India cannot fund every frontier. Betting on original work everywhere could spread the money too thin.

• Many "missed buses" the authors list, such as aircraft and advanced weapons [1], are defence-critical. Here, having a working system now can matter more than being first.

• What the objection gets right

• Some catch-up is needed. The RDI Scheme itself aims at self-reliance in strategic technologies [7], and that is partly catch-up work.

• Where it falls short

• The authors' main point is about cost over time. Licence and know-how payments come back with every new technology wave [1]. A country that only catches up pays this cost again and again.
• Where science and technology now overlap, nobody has a long lead yet [1]. That is where a late start costs the least, so a balanced answer is: catch up where you must (defence), and aim for original work in the new, overlapping fields.

12. What Opening the Labs Would Actually Take

• ANRF should use PAIR to tie national labs to outside institutions
• The op-ed says most national labs are "poorly accessible" to outside researchers, students and companies [1].
• ANRF already runs PAIR (Partnerships for Accelerated Innovation and Research) [4]. Its partnership model is the existing tool for joining strong institutions with weaker ones.

• Making lab access for partners a condition of PAIR funding would use money ANRF already spends to open the labs.

• Ministries that own public sector firms should set R&D spending targets

• Public sector R&D units spend 0.30% of turnover on R&D, against 1.46% in the private sector [13].

• The government owns these firms, so it can raise their spending directly. It does not need to wait for private donors to fill ANRF's ₹36,000 crore gap [4].

• DST should report where RDI Scheme money goes

• DST runs the RDI Scheme through its RDI Cell [8].

• Publishing how much goes out as loans and how much as risk capital, and in which sectors, would show whether the scheme reaches early-stage, original work [7].

• Measure GERD as a share of GDP, not in rupees

• The rupee figure doubled while the share stayed at about 0.64% [9][10]. The share is the only number that shows whether India is putting more of its income into research.

13. Anchors for Answers

• Data: GERD is 0.64% of GDP (Economic Survey 2025–26), and has generally stayed in the 0.6–0.7% band [9][11]
• Data: GERD rose from ₹60,196.75 crore (2010–11) to ₹1,27,380.96 crore (2020–21). It doubled in rupees, but the share of GDP stayed flat [10]
• Data: Business enterprises paid for only about 40% of GERD over five years; public sector R&D units spent 0.30% of turnover on R&D vs 1.46% for private ones (2020–21) [13]
• Data: About ₹36,000 crore (~80%) of ANRF's ₹50,000 crore is expected from non-government sources [3][4]
• Law/Case: Anusandhan National Research Foundation Act, 2023, notified February 2024 [3]
• Scheme: RDI Scheme (₹1 lakh crore, 1 July 2025). Mostly low or nil-interest long-tenor loans, so it fits near-market work better than early discovery [7]
• Scheme: ANRF's PAIR, an existing partnership tool that could be used to open national labs to universities and firms [4]

14. Mains Relevance

• GS-III: Science & Technology, covering developments and their applications, achievements of Indians in S&T, and indigenisation of technology and developing new technology. Also Indian economy (investment models).
• GS-II: Government policies and interventions; the role of institutions such as ANRF.
• Essay: Innovation, self-reliance, "leapfrogging versus catching up".
• Question stems: 1. "A catch-up approach to technology locks a nation into permanent dependence." Critically examine this in the Indian context and suggest how research institutions can be restructured. (250 words) 2. Assess whether the Anusandhan National Research Foundation and the RDI Scheme can address the structural reasons behind India's low GERD. (250 words) 3. Opening up national laboratories to academia and industry is essential for Indian research to have global impact. Discuss. (150 words)

15. Related Topics to Study Next

• ANRF Act, 2023: Governance structure, funds and the shift away from SERB-era grants.
• RDI Scheme & Deep Tech: Private-sector R&D financing model.
• GERD composition (DST R&D Statistics): Public vs private share and how India compares with other countries.
• CSIR / DRDO lab ecosystem: The "national labs" the article criticises.
• National Quantum Mission / IndiaAI Mission: Examples of science–technology convergence in frontier areas.
• Global Innovation Index (WIPO): India's ranking and how innovation inputs and outputs are measured.
• Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser: Institutional S&T advisory role, given the author's background.

16. NCERT Concepts to Revise

• Leapfrogging (Economy): The authors argue India should skip 'catch-up' and leap ahead with original technology, which is exactly this idea.
• Technology (Economy): The article is about how science and technology now overlap, and technology changes what an economy can produce.
• Self-reliance (Economy): The RDI Scheme targets technological self-reliance, and missed technology waves leave India dependent on foreign licences.
• Statutory body (Polity): ANRF was created by an Act of Parliament, unlike an executive scheme, so it has a firmer legal footing.
• Deep-tech startup (Economy): The RDI Scheme and ANRF's start-up support aim at science-heavy ventures that need long, costly R&D.
• Global Innovation Index (Economy): It is the standard yardstick for comparing India's research inputs and innovation outputs with other countries.

17. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• ANRF ≠ "NRF" scheme: The Bill was renamed "Anusandhan" NRF, and it is a statutory body, not an executive scheme [5].
• ₹50,000 crore (ANRF, 2023–28) vs ₹1 lakh crore (RDI Scheme): These are different instruments. ANRF funds grants and research; RDI provides low or nil-interest financing to the private sector [3][7].
• Act year vs notification year: The ANRF Act is from 2023 but was notified in Feb 2024 [3].
• GERD figure: Don't quote 1% or 2%. The current figure is 0.64% [9].
• Authorship: K. VijayRaghavan is a former PSA. The article's ideas come from an op-ed, not government policy [1].