Parliament Question: Declining public research funding

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 769 ANSWERED ON 05/02/2026 DECLINING PUBLIC RESEARCH FUNDING 769 SMT. RAJANI ASHOKRAO PATIL: Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state: (a) whether Government has reviewed the trends in public expenditure on scientific research in the country; (b) the details of budgetary allocations to major scientific departments, research councils and higher education institutions during the last three years, year-wise; (c) the impact of such expenditure on research capacity, infrastructure and output of academic and institutional laboratories; (d) the steps taken to encourage private sector participation, public-private partnerships and industry-academia collaboration in research and development; and (e) whether reduced or stagnant funding impacts India’s long-term innovation goals, global competitiveness and technology leadership and if so, the details of measures proposed to address this challenge? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY & EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH) (a) As per the Department of Science and Technology (DST) report “Research & Development Statistics 2022-23”, public expenditure in the country has shown an increasing trend. The Gross expenditure on R&D (GERD), which include both public and private R&D expenditure, has been consistently increasing over the years and more than doubled from Rs. 60,197 crore in 2010-11 to Rs.1,27,381 crore in 2020-21. (b) The Government has consistently increased the budget allocation to the scientific departments. The budgetary allocation (Budget Estimates) for six Major Scientific Agencies/Departments and some higher education institutions is at Annexure. Page 1 of 3(c) The systematic, sustained and enhanced public expenditure in R&D has significantly strengthened research capacity, human resource development, and state-of-the-art research infrastructure in the country. The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has supported 3,285 academic departments under the Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure (FIST) programme and 91 universities under the Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence (PURSE) scheme. Additionally, 15 analytical facilities have been established through Sophisticated Analytical Instrument Facilities (SAIF) and 5 national-level facilities through Sophisticated Analytical & Technical Help Institutes (SATHI) centers. The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), under the Boost to University Interdisciplinary Life Science Departments for Education and Research (DBT-BUILDER) programme, has supported 45 universities and institutions, benefiting 2,500 faculty members and 15,000 postgraduate students. The Government has further strengthened the research ecosystem through fellowships such as Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE), INSPIRE Faculty, WISE–PhD, WISE–PDF, Prime Minister Early Career Research Grant and NPDF. These sustained investments have translated into improved global performance, with India ranking 38th in the Global Innovation Index 2025, 6th globally in patent filings (World Intellectual Property Organization Report 2024), 3rd worldwide in research publications (Science & Engineering Indicators 2024, National Science Foundation), emerging as the third- largest startup ecosystem globally, and improving its Network Readiness Index ranking from 79th (2019) to 49th (2024). (d) The government has taken several steps to encourage private sector participation, public-private partnerships and industry-academia collaboration in research and development with the aim to strengthen overall research and development ecosystem of the country. Some of the key measures/steps taken up by the government include: launch of ₹1.0 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund; establishment of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF); National Quantum Missions (NQM); National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS); National Supercomputing Mission; etc. In addition, programmes have been implemented to foster science- and technology-based innovation and entrepreneurship in academic and research institutions, such as the National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI), Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) programmes, Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), Technology Development Fund (TDF), and Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE 2.0). (e) Does not arise, in view of (a) to (d) above. Page 2 of 3Annexure 1. Budget Allocation for Six Major Scientific Department/Agencies (Rs. Crore) Department 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 Department of Science & Technology 7931.05 8029.01 28508.90 Department of Scientific & Industrial Research/ Council of Scientific & Industrial 5746.51 6323.41 6657.78 Research Department of Biotechnology 2683.86 2275.70 3446.64 Department of Space 12543.91 13042.75 13416.20 Department of Atomic Energy (R&D Sector) 7618.13 8846.29 9627.94 Ministry of Earth Sciences 3319.88 3064.80 3649.81 Total 39843.34 41581.96 65307.27 Source: Demands for Grants of Central Government, Expenditure Budget, GoI (various Years) 2. Budget Allocation for Some of the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) Involved in Scientific Research (Rs. Crore) Name of HEI 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 Indian Institutes of Technology 9361.50 10202.50 11349.00 Indian Institute of Management 300.00 212.21 251.89 National Institutes of Technology 4820.60 5040.00 5687.47 Support to Indian Institute (s) of Science 1462.00 1540.00 1353.33 Education & Research (IISER) Indian Institute of Science (IISc) 815.40 875.77 856.50 Support to Indian Institute (s) of Information Technology (Allahabad, Gwalior, Jabalpur 290.00 315.91 407.00 and Kanchipuram) Source: Demands for Grants of Central Government, Expenditure Budget, GoI (various Years) ***** Page 3 of 3