Leverage scientific diaspora to expand R&D: Economic Survey

The government has suggested leveraging of scientific diaspora -- majorly working in the US -- to fill the need for qualified engineers and scientists in India, according to the Economic Survey 2017-18 report released on Monday.

Till 2013, about 950,000 Indian scientists and engineers were working in the US, a number that has increased from half a million in 2003, it said.

"From 2003 to 2013, while the number of scientists and engineers residing in the US rose from 21.6 million to 29 million, the number of immigrant scientists and engineers went from 3.4 million to 5.2 million. Of this, the number from India increased from just above half million in 2003 to 950,000 in 2013," said the report.

The government listed a number of schemes which it has launched in recent years to "attract back more scientists", providing them apparatus to do "good research" and hire post-doctoral students.

However, the report suggested that such "inducements" should not be extended to financial assistance, ensuring that local talent gets opportunity to work on equal level.

The report enumerated Ramanujan Fellowship Scheme, the Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) Faculty Scheme and the Ramalingaswami Re-entry Fellowship, as schemes launched to "provide avenues" to qualified Indian researchers from abroad.

"These schemes could be enhanced to take advantage of opportunities to recruit in a way to build whole research groups; the inducements should be such as to allow them to do good research (laboratory resources, ability to hire post-docs, housing) rather than financial, to ensure that home grown talent has a level playing field," it read.

--IANS

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