Invited
Communication
Biosci. Biotech. Res. Comm. 9(4): 576-579 (2016)
India: In pursuit of scienti c excellence
in the present scenario!
S. Salim*
21925 Manor Crest Ln, Boyds, Maryland MD 20841 USA
576
ARTICLE INFORMATION:
*Corresponding Author:
Received 12
th
Nov, 2016
Accepted after revision 19
th
Dec, 2016
BBRC Print ISSN: 0974-6455
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Online Contents Available at: http//www.bbrc.in/
ABSTRACT
India’s economic growth continues to astound and its economy ranks third in the world in terms of purchasing
power, behind China and the United States. Despite this impressive economic growth, scienti c research continues
to lag behind. The debilitating pace of our scienti c pulse is noticed at the declining number of youth opting for
scienti c careers, the passion for research and the quality of research publications, that clearly brings India a step
down in terms of performance with respect to other counterparts, such as China and Brazil. Clearly our country has
decades to span before it earns the status of a scienti c superpower. There are several critical issues that need to be
immediately addressed for universities to become centers of excellence. The researchers in India and abroad assert
that the country has a relatively weak foundation in science and engineering. The daunting challenges facing today
that wistfully still leads the world in the maximum number of maternal and child deaths, tuberculosis, dengue and
malaria cases. A quarter of the population that still lives in dark without having the basic amenities like electricity
and clean water, our nation surely requires a robust scienti c backbone to hold the crumbling torso of our country’s
infrastructure. The infrastructure that could well cater to the expanding needs for health care, education, jobs and
the basic necessities of life. The basis of any educational setup requires to have a strong work force, the teachers
who chisel and sculpt our foundations from its core to the pinnacle. It is strongly required to address their issues
regarding salaries and project funding to ease and allow our scienti c minds to break free and perform to the best of
their competence without the hassle of stiff budget. The minds of young scientists should be nurtured and be given
accolades and scholarships at an early phase to inculcate an innate love for science and research. Scienti c research
in India with all its inherent de ciencies and commendable achievements is in dire need of visionary leaders and path
nders to embark on a new journey.
KEY WORDS: SCIENTIFIC, EXCELLENCE, REASONS, PRESENT, SCENARIO
Saima Salim
The growth of any nation depends upon its advance-
ments in scienti c and technical manpower. In United
States 50% of the economic growth post World War II
can be attributed to its investments in science and tech-
nology (Bush, 1980). With this avalanche of scienti c
breakthroughs on a global front, India is marching for-
ward. With nearly 1.3 billion people and a steady growth
rate, it is expected to become the world’s most populous
nation within a generation. India’s economic growth
continues to astound and its economy ranks third in
the world in terms of purchasing power, behind China
and the United States. Despite this impressive economic
growth, scienti c research continues to lag behind.
Assuredly, this slackened pace of research turnover is
accounted to the low level of overall research investment
— the present 0.9% in GDP is notably less than China’s
1.5% and 2.6% of the US (Nature, editorial, 2009). This
number must increase if we are serious about waning
the gaps with leading nations. The debilitating pace of
our scienti c pulse is noticed at the declining number
of youth opting for scienti c careers, the passion for
research and the quality of research publications, that
clearly brings India a step down in terms of performance
with respect to other counterparts, such as China and
Brazil. Clearly our country has decades to span before it
earns the status of a scienti c superpower.
What is the hindrance our nation is facing towards
reaching the league of top nations? Perhaps there are
many reasons. The basis of the whole feebleness of our
system roots from our education foundation. India’s
university system as it exists today started in 1857 with
three essentially British creations – the Universities of
Madras, Calcutta and Bombay. But now in 2016, India
abodes roughly 800 universities, that includes the Cen-
tral, state, deemed and private universities (source: wiki-
pedia). These universities that build the grounds up for
nearly 29 million students lack basic facilities. “Most are
‘chalk and talk’ classrooms with poor-quality teaching
laboratories, let alone research laboratories,” according
to Dr. Ila, Professor of chemistry at the Jawaharlal Nehru
Centre for Advanced Scienti c Research, Bengaluru in a
Comment piece (Prasad, 2015).
Also, the quality of education is varying, from the
elite institutions funded by the central government to
more than 300 state universities and about 200 private
ones. “The landscape of science education is uneven,”
says Sri Krishna Joshi, former director-general of India’s
Council of Scienti c and Industrial Research (CSIR) and
former chair of the advisory committee of the University
Grants Commission, which funds and oversees university
education in India. The lack of lucrative projects, fund-
ing, improper planning as well as poorly paid professors
all affect the ill-repertoire of the present scenario. Fur-
thermore, the never-ending loop of the unavailability of
resources to the time it takes for the project execution
adds up to the steps of the whole process of research.
There are several critical issues that need to be imme-
diately addressed for universities to become centers of
excellence. The rst necessary change requires a com-
plete “overhauling” of the University Grants Commission
(UGC), which draws its power from theUniversity Grants
Commission Act, 1956 (2011). “Archaic ordinances and
rules set by the University Grants Commission have
sti ed the spirit of academic excellence and hampered
institutions’ exibility,” writes Prof. Vinod Singh, Direc-
tor of IISER, Bhopal (Prasad, 2015).
India produces 9,000 PhD graduates a year in science
and technology, in comparison to the US that produces
four times more number of PhDs despite having one-
fourth of India’s population. This comparison is alarm-
ing not just in terms of number, but in terms of quality
of research and publications. Ironically, Indian students
are ocking to U.S. schools at a faster rate than ever
recorded, and their number rose to 29.4% in the aca-
demic year starting fall 2014 (Powell, 2014). The reason
for this continued trend is due to better access to fund-
ing from banks, a lack of high quality higher education
institutions in India and stiff competition for those that
stay here. With this current situation, it is expected that
this trend will continue to last in perpetuity unless our
present education system and planning brings serious
reforms.
The researchers in India and abroad assert that the
country has a relatively weak foundation in science and
engineering. The daunting challenges facing today that
wistfully still leads the world in the maximum number
of maternal and child deaths, tuberculosis, dengue and
malaria cases. A quarter of the population that still lives
in dark without having the basic amenities like electric-
ity and clean water, our nation surely requires a robust
scienti c backbone to hold the crumbling torso of our
country’s infrastructure. The infrastructure that could
well cater to the expanding needs for health care, edu-
cation, jobs and the basic necessities of life.
The impeding pace of scienti c research is attributed
to burgeoning bureaucracy, poor-quality of education
at most universities and insuf cient funding. The gross
domestic product to support research has sadly remained
static at 0.9% since 2015, against what had been prom-
ised by the government bodies time and time again.
Only by tackling its systemic problems can India com-
pete with other emerging powerhouses (Padma, 2015).
Despite its huge pool of students, India has a rela-
tively miniscule number of researchers, and many of
its budding scientists head for other countries, with a
dream to ful l at foreign lands. When questioned about
this lack of passion and the sense of non-allegiance
among the native researchers, it seems apparent that
BIOSCIENCE BIOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS INDIA: IN PURSUIT OF SCIENTIFIC EXCELLENCE IN THE PRESENT SCENARIO! 577
Saima Salim
they are doubtful about their future and the sustainabil-
ity of what this eld has to offer in their home country.
Scholarships and stipends are very attractive in western
countries strongly suggesting that those at the helm of
affairs dosome introspection on why we have failed to
build world class institutes. Many students at state uni-
versities are receiving a substandard education (Padma,
2015). “Here, there are no good science teachers, no good
Indian textbooks, and most of the science laboratories
are poorly equipped. The lack of interest and passion
of research is losing its charm and is surely re ected.
“We are caught in a vicious circle of mediocrity,” says
geneticist Deepak Pental, former vice-chancellor of the
University of Delhi (Padma, 2015).
There is over-bureaucratization and lobbying within
the universities and their controlling bodies” (Pusaria,
2015). The process of fresh recruitment is bizarrely
lengthy, and it takes two years to recruit an academic
after announcing an open post, which means that
the best applicants can slip away. “Lack of even bare,
minimal and sustainable funds for teaching, let alone
research, has seriously plagued the quality and standards
of science education,” says Krishna Ganesh, a chemist
and director of the Indian Institute of Science Education
and Research in Pune, one of ve top universities set up
in India since 2006. And to add the regulations govern-
ing the formation, nancing and functioning of these
organizations are murkier than what is believed.
Council of Scienti c and Industrial Research(CSIR),
an autonomous body and the largest research and devel-
opment (R&D) organization in India. It runs 37 labora-
tories and 39 eld stations or extension centers spread
across the nation, with a collective staff of over 17000
(source; Wikipedia). The governmental stance has begun
to affect some elite national research institutes, too. Of
the 38 national laboratories that are part of the CSIR,
only 25 have full-time directors. The rest are making do
with acting directors, or temporary arrangements.
Even the CSIR headquarters in New Delhi has been
without a full-time leader since January 2014. Interim
director-general Madhukar Garg says that “the current
situation is indeed challenging (Sharma, 2015). CSIR is
the backbone of scienti c and technological research in
the country. In case the prevailing scenario continues, it
will affect the national innovation system as a whole.”
(Sharma, 2015). The current budgets of almost all sci-
enti c departments have either been slashed or are just
stagnating. Furthermore, the practice of temporary or
adhoc recruitment in governance of scienti c institu-
tions is adding up to build distort. (Sharma, 2015).
The major chunk of research is still being conducted
in academic institutes that are being run by the govern-
ment funded projects. This dependence on government
money has been one of the leading causes to diminish the
overall ambience of the scienti c community in India.
Sadly, the scientists and academicians have a pessimistic
sentiment about their inventions as the patents received
throughgovernmentsupported schemes andfellowships
are sold to private companies for huge sums and the
other major industrial players don’t support any R&D
activity other than for their in- house projects. In west-
ern countries, it is vice versa. Private companies provide
the huge share of funding for research.
With this prevailing sentiment amongst the scienti c
youth it is likely that the trend of brain drain will con-
tinue to rise unless a major change happens to halt this
ef ux. On a ip side, there are some signs that India
might be slowing its crippling brain drain, however the
chances are bleak. Although the vast majority of Indi-
ans who obtain science doctorates in the United States
remain there for at least 5 years after graduation, the
proportion has declined: from 89% in 2001 to 82% in
2011, the most recent year for which data are available
(Mervis, 2014). There are many who return back to their
home lands. Kaustuv Datta, a geneticist at Delhi Univer-
sity South Campus, is one of those who returned. “My
parents are here, in India. And academics have a strong,
positive in uence on the next generation of students,”
says Datta. “I wanted to make that contribution in India”
(Padma, 2015).
The phrase ‘Knowledge is Power’ might have orig-
inated with in the 16th century and it’s as old as
time. Today as we stay, we need to have a concerted
progress and clarity of goals. India’s educational system
fails to instill into young Indians a dynamic awareness
and understanding of their country’s achievements. In
present scenario, our crumbling educational and research
framework requires serious uphauling, from successive
increase in plan allocations for scienti c departments, to
setting up of new institutions for science education and
research, creation of centers of excellence and facili-
ties in emerging and frontline areas in academic and
national institutes, induction of new and attractive fel-
lowships and strengthening R&D infrastructure in uni-
versities. Turning brain drain into brain gain requires
creation of appropriate opportunities at certain critical
stages in the progression of a scienti c career.
On the contrary the picture in the west, especially
US is not rosy either. The pattern reaching back over
the years demonstrate how the US scienti c produce has
reached a stand point- a state of saturation with fewer
jobs, more unemployment, and more post-doc work -
especially in the sciences. A post doc essentially trans-
lates into toiling as a low-paid lab hand. In short, job
prospects for young science Ph.Ds haven’t been look-
ing so hot these last few years, not only in the life sci-
ences, which have been weak for some time, but also in
elds like engineering (Powell, 2012). So, its high time,
578 INDIA: IN PURSUIT OF SCIENTIFIC EXCELLENCE IN THE PRESENT SCENARIO! BIOSCIENCE BIOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
Saima Salim
BIOSCIENCE BIOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS INDIA: IN PURSUIT OF SCIENTIFIC EXCELLENCE IN THE PRESENT SCENARIO! 579
when the authorities in India need to gear up for a much
needed rebuild, revamp and reexamine, to bring back
our talent and to retain our youth to stay and connect to
our roots, rather than bearing the fruit in foreign land.
The basis of any educational setup requires to have a
strong work force, the teachers who chisel and sculpt our
foundations from its core to the pinnacle. It is strongly
required to address their issues regarding salaries and
project funding to ease and allow our scienti c minds to
break free and perform to the best of their competence
without the hassle of stiff budget. The minds of young
scientists should be nurtured and be given accolades and
scholarships at an early phase to inculcate an innate
love for science and research. Scienti c research in
India with all its inherent de ciencies and commendable
achievements is in dire need of visionary leaders and
path nders to embark on a new journey. As truly put by
Dr. Sharique Ali, “as teachers we have great responsibili-
ties, we have to advocate our students to accomplish and
show them the path to test their mettle in hard times to
excel. If the zeal and enthusiasm are correctly infused by
a teacher into his student, I am sure science will never
take a back seat. We, as teachers have to fuel our science
students with a never say die attitude (Ali, 2016) ! “Will
India be able to fully capitalize on this unique heritage?
The question still remains….
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UGC (2011) Universities in India are recognized by theUniver-
sity Grants Commission (UGC), which draws its power from
theUniversity Grants Commission Act, 1956.