Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar urges authentic research, says indigenisation is pointless if limited to nuts and bolts

Bengaluru: India needs authentic, cutting-edge, practical research that can change the ground reality, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Saturday. 

He was addressing the crowd at the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) R&D Award Ceremony in Bengaluru. “In the global perspective, our (India's) patent contribution leaves much to be desired… There is no use having research which goes a little beyond surface sketching. Your research must correlate with the change you seek to bring about,” he said.

He noted that research must be subjected to stringent standards and authentic research needs to be recognised. People must stay away from producing research work that gains momentary global recognition but is not put to use.

“When the whole nation is in an expectant mood, it expects more. We cannot rest our laurels on our past achievements," he said, urging BEL to lead the semiconductor revolution, handhold startups and nurture indigenous component development and work to establish India’s position in global supply chains through friendshoring.

Dhankar emphasised that the “genius and talent” in India allows for greater participation in research and development, spurred by the initiative of those in positions of power. Indigenisation must go beyond developing nuts and bolts and ensuring the nation has core material. “Atmanirbharta will come only when the world will look at us as a crucible of research and development,” he asserted.

The National Education Policy has brought about a big change, enabling people to become skill-oriented and move away from degrees. “What is now greatly fundamental is the spirit to innovate, the spirit to engage in research. That must be informed in school and colleges,” he said.