All PSUs must set aside higher expenditure towards R&D: Official

All public sector undertakings (PSUs) must earmark higher allocations towards research and development activities, a top official said on Wednesday.

Secretary in the Department of Public Enterprises Seema Bahuguna also said that all PSUs will now have to set up innovation cells to work on market-oriented research, and 154 such cells have already been set up by central public sector enterprises (CPSEs).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April last year had called for greater emphasis on collaborative research and development (R&D) by PSUs with focus on partnership with the IITs and other top universities.

"After that interaction with the Prime Minister, it has now been mandated that all CPSEs will set up innovation cells which will work on market-oriented research," Bahuguna said.

The secretary made the remarks at the release of India's R&D expenditure eco-system report which has been compiled by the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) with inputs from various stakeholders including the industry, academia and the government.

Ratan Watal, Member Secretary Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC), informed that the objective of the report is to address gaps in compiling R&D data so that up to date information on research and development activities is available in order to reflect India's true rank globally.

The second objective is to examining expenditure trends in various sectors and their short-comings. The final objective is to lay down the road map for achieving the desire target of R&D spend by the year 2022, he said.

Watal further said that India needs to re-double its efforts to improve its ranking in the science and research ecosystem by increasing the national expenditure on R&D. The growth in R&D expenditure should be commensurate with growth of GDP and should touch at least 2 per cent of GDP by 2022.

Bahuguna said 154 such innovation cells have been set up by CPSEs where research is undergoing like the NALCO MIDHANI Lithium - Aluminium Alloy Plant in Odisha.

Research is also being undertaken by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited on generation of methanol from high ash Indian coal, whereas Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is working on aero engines for various types of aircrafts/ helicopters for use by defence forces, she added.

The secretary informed that from 2014-15 to 2017-18, there has been an increase of 116 per cent in R&D spending by CPSEs.