Pro-Science collective terms budget allocation, S&T spend ‘hopelessly inadequate’ | India News
BENGALURU: Pointing out that appropriate funding of agencies like the department of science and technology (DST), department of biotechnology (DBT) and the department of scientific and industrial research (DSIR) is crucial, Breakthrough Science Society (BSS), a pro-science collective, termed the current level of S&T expenditure “hopelessly inadequate” if India is to compete at the international level in knowledge generation.
Out of a total budget of Rs 45-lakh-crore, only Rs 16,361 crore (0.36%) has been allocated to the ministry of science and technology — Rs 7,931 crore to DST, Rs 2,683.9 crore to DBT and Rs 5,746.5 crore to DSIR. These are the agencies that fund scientific research, so appropriate funding of these agencies is crucial, BSS said in a statement on Thursday.
“…The corresponding figures last year were: Rs 6,000 crore, Rs 2,581 crore and Rs 5,636 crore, respectively. Considering inflation of 5.13%, the outlay in DBT and DSIR has actually reduced (these had to be Rs 2,713 crore and Rs 5,925 crore, respectively, to maintain the same level of support),” the statement read.
More than 90% of the funds of these organisations, it said, was spent on salary, leaving very little for conducting scientific research. Other ministries also support scientific research, including the department of atomic energy (DAE), which got Rs 25,078 crore, department of Space (DoS), which got Rs 12,543 crore, etc.
“…But only a small fraction of their budget is spent on R&D. For example, in DAE, a major chunk is allocated to projects like building new reactors, enhancing and augmenting facilities, etc., and a much smaller amount goes into DAE-funded institutions. The allocation to DoS has actually been reduced from Rs 13,700 crore last year to Rs 12,543.9 crore this year,” it added.
Stating that scientific manpower in any country comes from the education sector and that a robust health of education is crucial for its scientific prowess, BSS said: “The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 document says (Article 26.1), ‘Unfortunately, public expenditure on education in India has not come close to the recommended level of 6% of GDP as envisaged by the 1968 Policy, reiterated in the policy of 1986, and which was further reaffirmed in the 1992 review of the policy’.”
“Education being in the concurrent list, the country’s expenditure on education cannot be estimated from the Union budget alone. But it is generally believed that the Union government’s commitment has to be at least 10% of the Union budget in order for the total spending on education to reach a level of 6% of the country’s GDP,” the statement read.
BSS said that the scientific community has been demanding this for many years but successive budgets have not reflected the necessary financial commitment.
“This year also, the outlay on education is Rs 1.1-lakh-crore, which is only 2.5% of the Union budget. Even out of this meagre amount given to education, a significant amount will be spent on facilitating online education — to be poured into NGOs and private companies to set up digital libraries and labs for developing apps for the effective use of 5G technology,” it said,
It added that the improvement of the infrastructure of government-run schools, colleges and universities has received a low priority.
“…It is clear that the Union government is bent on implementing the NEP-2020 without making the necessary financial provisions. The Breakthrough Science Society condemns the lack of political will to strengthen education and scientific and technological research, as reflected in the Union Budget 2023,” the statement reads.
Out of a total budget of Rs 45-lakh-crore, only Rs 16,361 crore (0.36%) has been allocated to the ministry of science and technology — Rs 7,931 crore to DST, Rs 2,683.9 crore to DBT and Rs 5,746.5 crore to DSIR. These are the agencies that fund scientific research, so appropriate funding of these agencies is crucial, BSS said in a statement on Thursday.
“…The corresponding figures last year were: Rs 6,000 crore, Rs 2,581 crore and Rs 5,636 crore, respectively. Considering inflation of 5.13%, the outlay in DBT and DSIR has actually reduced (these had to be Rs 2,713 crore and Rs 5,925 crore, respectively, to maintain the same level of support),” the statement read.
More than 90% of the funds of these organisations, it said, was spent on salary, leaving very little for conducting scientific research. Other ministries also support scientific research, including the department of atomic energy (DAE), which got Rs 25,078 crore, department of Space (DoS), which got Rs 12,543 crore, etc.
“…But only a small fraction of their budget is spent on R&D. For example, in DAE, a major chunk is allocated to projects like building new reactors, enhancing and augmenting facilities, etc., and a much smaller amount goes into DAE-funded institutions. The allocation to DoS has actually been reduced from Rs 13,700 crore last year to Rs 12,543.9 crore this year,” it added.
Stating that scientific manpower in any country comes from the education sector and that a robust health of education is crucial for its scientific prowess, BSS said: “The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 document says (Article 26.1), ‘Unfortunately, public expenditure on education in India has not come close to the recommended level of 6% of GDP as envisaged by the 1968 Policy, reiterated in the policy of 1986, and which was further reaffirmed in the 1992 review of the policy’.”
“Education being in the concurrent list, the country’s expenditure on education cannot be estimated from the Union budget alone. But it is generally believed that the Union government’s commitment has to be at least 10% of the Union budget in order for the total spending on education to reach a level of 6% of the country’s GDP,” the statement read.
BSS said that the scientific community has been demanding this for many years but successive budgets have not reflected the necessary financial commitment.
“This year also, the outlay on education is Rs 1.1-lakh-crore, which is only 2.5% of the Union budget. Even out of this meagre amount given to education, a significant amount will be spent on facilitating online education — to be poured into NGOs and private companies to set up digital libraries and labs for developing apps for the effective use of 5G technology,” it said,
It added that the improvement of the infrastructure of government-run schools, colleges and universities has received a low priority.
“…It is clear that the Union government is bent on implementing the NEP-2020 without making the necessary financial provisions. The Breakthrough Science Society condemns the lack of political will to strengthen education and scientific and technological research, as reflected in the Union Budget 2023,” the statement reads.
