Parliament Question: Promotion of Research and Development in Higher Education

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2100 ANSWERED ON 11/03/2026 Promotion of Research and Development in Higher Education 2100 Shri Sana Sathish Babu: Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state: (a) the current percentage of GDP allocated to Research and Development (R&D) in the country and the share contributed by Higher Education Institutions; (b) whether Government has undertaken initiatives to enhance research infrastructure and innovation capacity in Universities and Colleges; (c) the measures being taken to increase private sector participation and industry collaboration in academic research, along with the current percentage share of private sector contribution; and (d) the details of central assistance provided to Higher Education Institutions in Andhra Pradesh for research and innovation programmes during the last three years? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR) (a) to (d): The Gross Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD) in the country has been consistently increasing over the years and has more than doubled from ₹ 60,196.75 crore in 2010-11 to ₹ 127,380.96 crore in 2020-21. Government has also sanctioned ₹ 20,041.00 crores to Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs), Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs), and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru for the financial year 2025-26, for teaching, research and innovation. The government has encouraged corporate sector to make R&D investments under the provision of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Further, to enhance the quality of higher education, the Government of India has undertaken several measures for the provision of quality infrastructure, strengthening of the research and innovation ecosystem, promotion of industry academia linkages which include the following: i. In addition to the budgetary support being provided to the Centrally Funded Higher Education Institutions, the Government of India provides financial support to State Governments also under the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)/ Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA) scheme under three components namely, “Enhancing Quality and Excellence in select State Universities”, “Infrastructure Grants to Universities” and “Multi-Disciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERU)” for improvement in Higher Education. ii. With the objective of promoting Research & Development-driven integration ofacademia, industry, and enterprise creation, Research Parks have been set up in eight IITs and IISc Bengaluru to establish research ecosystem around these institutions. Further, Union Cabinet in May, 2025 has approved expansion of academic and infrastructure capacity, including creation of Research Park, of five new IITs including IIT Tirupati in the State/UT of Andhra Pradesh, with a total outlay of ₹ 11,828.79 crore. Government has also approved setting up of research parks in another five IITs through Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA). iii. To attract the best minds to pursue high - quality research in India's premier academic institutions, the Government launched Prime Minister’s Research Fellows (PMRF) Scheme in 2018-19 with total financial outlay of ₹ 1650 Crores. The scheme was launched to attract the best and brightest minds to pursue high – quality research in India’s premier academic institutions with enhanced financial support which includes fellowship and research grant. Under PMRF, 3688 scholars have been admitted. The first phase of PMRF has led to better outcomes of research and thus, 10,000 fellowships have been announced under PMRF in Budget 2025-26 for technological research with enhanced financial support. iv. The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) has been established by the ANRF Act 2023 in February, 2024 with an outlay of ₹ 50,000 crores to provide high level strategic direction for research, innovation and entrepreneurship in the field of science and technology with the provision of substantive share of budget contribution from private sector. v. The Government has also launched the Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme on November 3, 2025, a ₹1-lakh-crore initiative, representing a significant move to strengthen India’s research and development landscape. vi. The Government has also simplified the procedure for procurement of scientific equipment and consumables for research purpose and further delegated the powers to Directors/Vice-Chancellors of the educational and research institutes under scientific Ministry/ Departments /Organizations to approve the issuance of Global Tender Enquiries (GTEs) up to ₹ 200 crore under Rule 161(iv) of the General Financial Rules (GFRs), 2017, subject to due justification for such procurement in the interest of research activities. With a view to enhancing institutional autonomy and expediting research procurement, Government has also revised and enhanced the monetary ceilings under Rules 154, 155, 161 and 162 of the GFRs, 2017 for procurement of scientific equipment and consumables. vii. Further, to conduct interdisciplinary research, develop cutting-edge applications, and create scalable solutions the Government has also established four Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Artificial intelligence (Al), one each in the areas of health, sustainable cities, agriculture and education at IISc Bengaluru, IIT Kanpur, IIT Ropar and IIT Madras respectively, with a total financial outlay of ₹ 1490.00 Cr. Further, apart from IIT Tirupati, an Institution of National Importance (INI) established by the Central Government in the state of Andhra Pradesh, institutes such as IIITDM Kurnool, IISER Tirupati and NIT Andhra Pradesh have also been established in the state. These institutes are known for their excellence in technical education, advanced research in both fundamental and applied domains, promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship, and consultancy services to industry. *****