So many women doing PhD. But where are the scientists?

Expressing concern over China overtaking India in the field of Science, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said that spending on Research and Development (R&D) would be more than double by the end of the twelfth five-year-plan. He also called for gender auditing at science institutions.

“Over the past few decades, India’s relative position in the world of science had been declining and we have been overtaken by countries like China. Things are changing but we cannot be satisfied with what has been achieved,” said the prime minister after inaugurating the 99th Indian Science Congress (ISC) here.

“We need to do much more to change the face of Indian science. We must strengthen the supply chain of the science sector. While it is true that science and engineering continue to attract the best students, many of them later opt for other careers because of poor prospects in science,” he said.

“The fraction of GDP spent on R&D in India has been too low and stagnant. We must aim to increase the total R&D spending as a percentage of GDP to 2% by the end of the 12th Plan Period from the current level of about 0.9%. This can only be achieved if industry, which contributes only 25% of the total R&D expenditure today, increases its contribution,” he said.

Asking public sector undertakings, especially in the energy sector, to play a major role in it, he said, “We have to increase public private partnerships and catalyse significantly increased interaction between publicly owned S&T institutions and industry.

He also said there is a need of giving practical meaning to innovations so that they do not end up being just a buzz word, “While research generates new knowledge, we need innovation to use this knowledge productively for social benefit,” he exhorted.

Praising the role of women scientists in the country, he had a word of caution, “We should also take note of the results of a study that showed 60% of nearly 2,000 Indian women PhDs in science who were surveyed were unemployed. The main reason cited was lack of job opportunities. Only a very small number cited family reasons.”

“This underlines the need for transparency in selection procedures at institutions and also the importance of gender audits,” he added.