‘Indian academia should adapt to changing requirements at a faster pace’

Each year, Infosys Science Foundation, a not-for-profit trust honours individuals working across fields ranging from anthropology to nanosciences. In fact, recipients include Raghuram Rajan, the current Governor of the RBI.

In an exclusive chat with Business Line , Srinath Batni, a company Board Member and President of the Board of Trustees at the foundation, outlines how India is lagging behind in scientific research, and the need for the academia and the government to be on the same page to make India a science superpower by 2020.

Is science in India starting to take off considering the successful Mars mission and contributions made by scientists like CNR Rao?

It is interesting you bring that up. While the achievements have been laudable, it has been in pockets and not a widespread movement. This is reflected in the numbers. Our GDP spend on science at present in 0.9 per cent. Compare that with Korea or China, and the percentage of spend on science has to be much more than this. We should look at spending 1.5–2 per cent of our GDP on science and it will help open up opportunities for youngsters. Also, the fruits of this research can help grow the Indian economy as it has done in other developed economies.

Do you think science as a discipline needs a radically different way of teaching in India, considering that students are under constant pressure to find jobs?

Science and scientific research are at the heart of everything we do today. India has not lived up to its true potential as the scientific research temperament is lacking when compared to developed economies.

We need to change that. In fact, if you extend that logic, according to a recent McKinsey study , 75 per cent of the engineering graduates are not employable. So, efforts should made to strengthen the education system, and that is a mindset change.

The last few years have seen the private sector picking up the tab of re-skilling employees. Are you happy with the government’s initiatives on this front?

The government is making the right moves. For example, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unveiled the scientific 20:20 vision, which envisions India as a scientific superpower by that timeframe. They have touched upon research work carried out by both Indian and multinational corporations.

Today, a lot of money is spent by multinationals to do R&D work in India with a focus on using the talent base in India to their business requirements.

However, since the focus is on their markets, the solutions may not be relevant to India. Utilising Indian talent to tackle our problems will benefit our economy. Then, there is the need to enhance the ties between corporations and academia.

t has to become a solid cooperative movement where both strengths need to come together and that needs immediate attention.

What about curriculum? Do you think it is on par with other emerging economies?

That is the area where we need to sit back and think. Indian academia should adapt to changing requirements at a faster pace as research in science is touching new frontiers in other economies.

Ultimately, when these changes are made at an early stage of a student’s career, it will help them to work in the latest technology areas rather than learning something that gets outdated by the time they get out of college. That flexibility is not high in India.

What areas of science do you think students should focus on?

It is very difficult to pinpoint a specific area. In IT, it is cloud computing and business analytics. When it comes to science, there are too many areas. For example, nanoscience has applications in many areas.

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