To promote, fund, and mentor scientific research in higher education institutions across the country, the NRF is designed as an apex body. For a nation of its size, skill, economic standing, and goals, India’s research capabilities in all fields, notably in science and technology, are low and woefully insufficient. Most of our educational institutions have low overall standards in comparison to the rest of the world, but the quantity and calibre of the research done there is still worse.
Source: The NFA Post
In terms of creative innovations and the quantity of patent applications, we lag well behind other nations. One of the causes of this is the low level of research funding. India barely invests 0.66 percent of its considerably lower GDP on research, compared to China, which spends approximately 2.6% of its GDP on it and wants to expand that amount by 7% annually. Private corporations in other countries invest more in research than our country does.
Therefore, the NRF, which has a view for the five years from 2023 to 2028, is a suitable place to start. Its objectives include impacting Indian universities, colleges, research institutes, and R&D laboratories and forging collaboration between the industry, academia, government departments, and research institutions.
The private sector in India is not well renowned for its enthusiasm or capacity for research. In the majority of nations, the private sector takes the lead, and there are strong connections between business, educational institutions, and other sectors when it comes to research.
Source: The Economic Times
It was suggested in the 2020 New Education Policy (NEP) that there should be strong ties between academic institutions. Hopefully, the NRF will make this possible. The nation has demands and issues that are unique to it in a number of important sectors of the economy, the environment, the climate, etc. Within the nation the answers must be discovered.
To enable high-quality research at higher levels, education standards must rise starting in the classroom. Decisions like eliminating the theory of evolution from the curriculum convey the wrong message about how basic science should be treated and supported. It is important to foster a scientific mindset, as well as the practice of challenging authoritative figures in all fields and the freedom to do so.
Only in environments that allow for freedom can creativity and invention flourish. The Prime Minister will serve as the NRF’s ex-officio chairman, demonstrating the significance the government places on it. However, it shouldn’t be a bureaucratic organisation and should have enough liberty to function well.
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