Lab India

RA Mashelkar is the director general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). He was the chairman of the Standing Committee on Information Technology of World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), and is a member of India's Science Academy Council to the Prime Minister and of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet. Mashelkar spoke to Vineeta Pandey on the future of research and development in India.

Is India fast turning into a favoured research and development destination?
Yes, it is. India has the superb advantage of human resource, cost and competence, besides stupendous engineering power. India produces about 3 lakh engineers every year.

With chemistry and chemical engineering being our strength, we produce almost 1.2 lakh science graduates every year. With new institutes coming up, this number is only going to grow further.

How has the R&D scenario changed since 1995?
It has changed enormously. Because of the expectation of new patent laws, our pharmaceutical industry, which grew by reverse engineering, had to shift its R&D portfolio. In 1995, hardly 1 per cent of investments were in this sector, now it's more than 10 per cent.

Within the R&D sector itself, investments have gone up by 500 per cent. Also, a lot of public and private partnership is taking place. During the last four years, we have had 65 private and 230 public companies working together in the R&D sector. The government is also promoting this through special funding.

What are India's advantages?
Our biggest advantage lies in human capital. While the rest of the world is growing old, we have the advantage of a relatively younger population, and educated young human resource. By 2010, the European Union will face a shortage of 7 lakh researchers. They will surely have to look at India and China to fill that gap.

Is the R&D taking place in India of any significance in the global arena?
Yes, in certain areas, but we need to make proper investments. Chemistry has been our great strength, and we can be leaders in this field. We have great traditional systems like Ayurveda.

If we combine that with modern science and medicine, it will create a Golden Triangle. Drugs all over the world are getting expensive. It's the drugs and pharmaceutical companies that are filing the maximum number of patents. Process chemistry, biology and engineering are the other areas where we are doing very well.

What pattern do you see in terms of R&D outfits?
I expect the private sector to come in a big way. They have realised the importance of being innovative rather than being imitative. The market will turn more competitive as more and more companies join in.

What is India’s future in R&D?
Innovation is going to be the key for India's growth. The 'I' in India should stand for innovation, not inhibition or imitation. As long as we have the price-process envelope, and create low-cost products we will continue to do well.