(a) the details of the schemes run by the Government to
promote Research and Development (R&D) in higher education
and the thrust areas identified for this purpose;
(b) the details of the funds provided and the expenditure
incurred on R&D in higher education during the last three
years and the current year;
(c) the extent of achievements made so far; and
(d) the roadmap envisaged for further development in this
regard?
MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI KAPIL SIBAL)
(a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the
House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF LOK
SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 29 FOR 23.02.2011, ASKED BY SHRI
DEEPENDER SINGH HOODA, HON’BLE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT,
REGARDING R&D IN HIGHER EDUCATION.
(a): University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Ministry of
Science and Technology implement various schemes in higher
education for promoting and strengethening Research and
Development in Universities and colleges. Details are in
Annexure I and II respectively. In addition, the Indian
Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Indian Council
for Medical Research (ICMR) also implement schemes towards
this purpose. Details are in Annexure III.
The thrust area identified for purposes of the above
mentioned schemes of Ministry of S&T, ICAR, ICMR and UGC
include Plasma Physics, Nuclear Physics, Structural Biology,
Neurosciences, Organic Synthesis, Robotics, Nano-technology,
Agriculture Bio-Technology covering areas of Crop Sciences,
Development of Bio-fertilizers and Bio-pesticides, Animal
Biotechnology, Aquaculture & Marine Biotechnology,
development of improved varieties/breeds, reproductive
health and communicable diseases, Bio-resource development
& utilization including Medicinal and Aromatic plants &
Seri Biotechnology, Basic Research in emerging areas, Nano-
Biotechnology, Medical Biotechnology, Vaccine Research &
Development, Human Genetics & Genomics, Stem Cell Research,
Bio-processing and Scale-up Biotechnology & Bio-safety
Research.
(b): UGC has reported that it has allocated and spent
Rs.1972.63 crores on research and development in the last
three years. Department of Science and Technology (DST) has
reported that it has allocated and spent Rs. 1383.91 crores
on research and development in the last three years.
Similarly Department of Bio Technology (DBT) has reported
has reported that it has allocated and spent Rs. 908.80
crores on research and development in the last three years.
For the current year, UGC, DST and DBT have spent Rs. 631.02
crores, Rs. 494.59 crores and Rs.306.08 crores on research
and development respectively.
(c): Department of Science and Technology has reported
that Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) has
emerged as a national model for a transparent and rigorous
peer review mechanism. SERC support lead to about 1200
papers annually with an average per paper impact factor
rating of 2.2. Contribution of Universities in research
papers has gone up from 15% to 35%. Similarly, field of Bio-
technology has ensured development and transfer of more than
50 technologies for product development and commercial
production. Tissue Culture propagation techniques for
several plant varieties have been developed and demonstrated
on a large scale. In health care area also, several
advancements have been made. Vaccine for leprosy has been
developed. Several other vaccines are at various stages of
development. Diagnostic Kits have been developed for several
diseases. In the field of agriculture and allied sciences,
patents were granted to ICAR in 8 fields of invention. The ICAR institutes have
also secured 4 Trademarks and registered 6 copyrights.
(d): The Department of Biotechnology has reported that
it has formulated a three pronged strategy for future to
promote research and development in Bio-technology:
(i) To promote Basic Research in emerging areas such
as Genomics, RNA biology, Proteomics, Metabolomics,
Computational biology etc.
(ii) To intensify Translation Research for development of
affordable product and process related to Agriculture
productivity.
(iii) To launch innovative schemes for increasing
academia-industry interaction.
The DST has reported that Science and Engineering Board
(SERB) has been created through an Act of Parliament. The
main mandate of this Board will be to support basic research
in emerging areas of Science and Engineering. The SERB will
enable quicker decisions on research issues, thereby greatly
improving our responsiveness to the needs of research
scientists and S&T system. The future road map of the DST
includes giving special attention to needs of the North
Eastern Region (NER) and Jammu& Kashmir state by means of
special package to promote research in the institutions
located in these states.
UGC has reported that main area of focus in the
Universities and colleges would be to promote basic
scientific research. The recommendations of M.M. Sharma
Committee on Basic Scientific research will be implemented
fully. An allocation of Rs.1200 crore has been made in the
Eleventh Five Year Plan for strengthening Basic Scientific
Research in institutions of higher learning including
support for infrastructure development for implementation of
recommendations of the Task Force constituted under the
chairmanship of Prof. M.M. Sharma. The schemes of
Universities with potential for Excellence and Colleges with
Potential for Excellence (CPE) will be further improved and
promoted. The scheme of Assistance for Strengthening of
Infrastructure for Science and Technology (ASIST) will also
be expanded for creating S&T infrastructure in higher
education.
ICAR has reported that in order to meet the emerging
challenges in the field of agriculture and allied sectors,
it will focus on human resource development to generate
appropriate location specific technologies. It proposes to
further improve upon the inter-institutional knowledge
support in order to leverage R&D for alleviation of hunger,
poverty and livelihood security.