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Many hurdles to research in India

Last Updated 08 August 2022, 19:15 IST

Scientific research and innovation are quintessential for the progress of a nation. Developed countries such as the USA, China, Russia and Japan owe their success to a keen interest in research. While USA and China together contribute around 50% of research and development in the world, India contributes a mere 2.7%.

India’s higher education sector is one of the biggest in the world with more than 51,000 institutions and universities. The lack of rewards for researchers is a key factor behind the poor research performance of Indian institutions. Despite an increase in publications, low citation impact as indicated by ‘citations per document’ indicates a lack of quality in Indian research papers.

Most of the over 1 million technical graduates produced each year in India lack interest in research, in the absence of proper guidance. Indians who receive their doctorates work as associates, or as lecturers, gradually tend to move on to other well-paying fields.

The long wait to get rewarded is a significant reason behind the dislike for research. Small milestone results can take weeks to months or years depending on one’s field. Research demands continued use of intellect, time and money with no hope for quick gains. It is a long road with no guarantee of success, but requires enormous effort.

From a teacher’s viewpoint, research commands a high investment of time, which makes it difficult to maintain a work-life balance. After standing and teaching for the entire day, devoting time to research may impact health and family life. Teachers must be well-read to quench the inquisitive minds of students. Research demands additional commitment.

For a student, taking up research as a career has several preconceived notions. The lack of awareness about research opportunities and the prejudice that research does not pay well are some of them. Students prefer to go for an applied experience of knowledge acquired by them in their schooling and college years. Job security is something most students look for, and research fails to cater to that need. An amalgamation of such reasons causes students to feel disinterested in research.

Amidst the lack of research, Indian products fail to bridge the gap between the product and the customers’ faith, which drives customers towards MNCs. For a country, research is not just a profit generator, but a long-term investment with future revenues. India spends less than 1% of its GDP on research and development which must be increased in order to get the best research output.

(The author is a professor at a university in Bengaluru)

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(Published 08 August 2022, 18:31 IST)

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