Budget 2023: Experts Call For Higher Allocation For Scientific Research, Focus On Clean Water And Green Energy
India Budget 2023: India has achieved several milestones in science and technology, including space and defence. However, experts believe that the budget allocation for science is not enough.
India Budget 2023: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to announce the Union Budget 2023 on Wednesday, February 1, 2023. India has achieved several milestones in science and technology, including space and defence. However, experts believe that the budget allocation for science is not enough. Also, they expect a significant portion of the funds to be allocated for research and the establishment of scientific infrastructure.
Budget needs to focus on establishing scientific infrastructure, expert says
Experts believe that there is a need for financing to establish scientific infrastructure for science and engineering institutes in India. “The Union Budget may consider financing the establishment of a shared pool of scientific infrastructure consisting of expensive, world-class tools, apparatus, and equipment spread among science and engineering institutes in India,” Dr. Sanjay Goel, Director, Institute of Engineering & Technology, JK Lakshmipat University, told ABP Live.
He said he believes that all Indian researchers and innovators should have access to these facilities, because this would provide a significant boost to research and development (R&D).
“All Indian researchers and innovators should have access to these facilities. If a significant portion of the funds will be allocated to the National Research Foundation, then equal participation from established Higher Education Institutes in terms of sharing existing world-class equipment will be more, and it could provide a significant boost to R&D in multiple disciplines across the country,” Dr Goel said.
Expert calls for focus on clean water supply, green energy
The science budget should be focused on clean water supply and green energy, according to Dr Goel.
“As there are major advancements going on to protect the environment, the budget should be focused on clean water supply because it is becoming more and more challenging. There is an urgent need for technological solutions for this,” Dr Goel said.
“More funds and policies should be made for green entrepreneurs at the university level along with low-cost green materials and green energy,” he added.
“Increased R&D is critical for our defence sector as more funds need to be allocated for healthcare technologies,” he added.
Dr Goel also said that healthcare technologies are not limited only to medicine. “Engineering too plays a very big role in it. Remember the oxygen concentrator crisis of the Covid time. We need many low-cost medical devices made in India,” he stated.
Budget should be allocated for digital education, increased research in universities
According to Dr Goel, a significant amount of the budget needs to be allocated for specialised learning in higher education to create more job opportunities. There should also be an increase in funds for research.
“Last year, major announcements were made for the schemes like Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS), skill development and vocational education digital education, E-learning in regional languages, and for specialised learning in higher education. For this year’s budget, more funding needs to be used in higher education for more skill development courses to create more job opportunities. There should be a hike in funds related to research and development at the university level,” Dr Goel added.
Budget allocated for S&T so far is not enough: experts
Experts believe that the budget allocated for science last year was “very less”, and much less than the expectation.
“The budget for science and technology in India has always been at its lowest. Last year, the budget allocation was only Rs. 14,217 crores which is just 0.3 per cent of the total country’s budget,” Mr. Aman Mittal, Vice President, Lovely Professional University, told ABP Live.
“Countries like China and the US have nearly 2.5-3 per cent of their total budget for science and technology,” he added.
Mittal stated that most of the budget allocated for science and technology is used by bodies like the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), which have been using it to advance the technologies in the field of defence, artificial intelligence (AI) and many such sectors.
“Any decrease in the budget will lead to a lower level of innovations in these areas,” Mittal further said.
He explained that the way India is trying to position itself as a superpower of knowledge centres in the world, the budget allocated by the government so far is not enough.
“Ideally it should be a sizable amount to begin with at least double of what has been allocated to science and technology. And only then will India’s aspiration to be the startup hub or the knowledge power of the world be fulfilled,” Mittal stated.
“The funding for science last time was very less. It was only 0.3 per cent of the union budget. The country spends only 0.7 per cent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) on R&D. This is much less than the expectation,” Dr Goel said.
“Our dream to be the ‘Vishvaguru’ and become ‘Atmanirbhar’ will remain only slogans if we do not increase our R&D significantly,” Dr Goel added.
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