R&D Statistics and Indicators 2019-20

Countdown for New UPSC IAS Preliminary Exam Date

R&D Statistics and Indicators 2019-20

GS Paper III: Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management

TOPIC: Science and Technology – developments and their applications and effects in everyday life Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

Context: India’s gross expenditure in R&D has tripled between 2008 & 2018 driven mainly by Govt sector and scientific publications.

Key Highlights of R&D Statistics and Indicators 2019-20

The R&D Statistics and Indicators 2019-20 based on the national S&T survey 2018 has been brought out by the National Science and Technology Management Information (NSTMIS), Department of Science and Technology (DST).

The report on R&D indicators for the nation is an extraordinarily important document for the evidence-based policy making and planning in higher education, R&D activities and support, intellectual property, and industrial competitiveness.
The report captures the R&D landscape of the country through various Input-Output S&T Indicators in the form of Tables and graphs. These includes:
- Investments in national R&D;
- R&D investments by Government and Private sector;
- R&D relationship with economy (GDP);
- Enrollment of S&T personnel;
- Manpower engaged in R&D;
- Outrun of S&T personnel, papers published, patents and their international S&T comparisons.

India’s gross expenditure in R&D has tripled between 2008 & 2018.
- India spent 0.7% of its GDP on R&D in 2017-18, while the same among other developing BRICS countries was Brazil 1.3%, Russian Federation 1.1%, China 2.1% and South Africa 0.8%.
Extramural R&D support by central S&T agencies has increased significantly.
- DST and DBT were the two major players contributing 63% and 14%, respectively of the total extramural R&D support in the country during 2016-17.
The number of researchers per mn populations has doubled since 2000.
- India occupies 3rd rank in terms of number of Ph. D.’s awarded in Science and Engineering (S&E) after USA (39,710 in 2016) and China (34,440 in 2015).
India is placed 3rd among countries in scientific publication as per NSF database.
- During 2018, India was ranked at 3rd, 5th and 9th in scientific publication output as per the NSF, SCOPUS and SCI database respectively
India is ranked at 9th position in terms of Resident Patent Filing activity in the world.
- During 2017-18 a total of 47,854 patents were filed in India. Out of which, 15,550 (32%) patents were filed by Indian residents.
- Patent applications filed in India are dominated by disciplines like Mechanical, Chemical, Computer/Electronics, and Communication.
- According to WIPO, India’s Patent Office stands at the 7th position among the top 10 Patent Filing Offices in the world