India's Science Investment Gap: Why Experts Warn of Missed Global Opportunities

At an event held in the national capital, the experts reflected on how scientific research priorities must evolve in response to global uncertainty, rapid technological advances, and increasingly complex societal challenges.

Professor Jack Szostak, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine (2009), said that increasing investment in science and education can help develop solutions to global problems.

“India has enormously talented people, but overall investment in science and technology remains very modest. There are bright spots of world-class research, but they are small compared to what India could achieve,” Szostak said, during the event organised by Ashoka University.

Szostak, a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Chicago, stated that investment in science is often seen as competing with immediate social needs.

“On the contrary, the most effective way to address these pressing challenges is to increase investment in science and technology, because that will lead to solutions to the pressing problems of today,” the expert said.

Former Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Professor K. VijayRaghavan, reiterated the need to expand both the scale and footprint of scientific research in India.

“While India has made significant investments in select missions and institutions, the broader challenge lies in widening access to research funding beyond a small set of elite centres and building mechanisms that allow emerging institutions to absorb and utilise resources effectively,” he added.

Priyamvada Natarajan, Professor of Astronomy and Physics at Yale University, highlighted the importance of sustained support for fundamental research and increasing investments in science.

“This is a unique moment for India to step up its investment in science and focus on a few high-impact, interdisciplinary areas. Much of today’s most important research is deeply collaborative, and by investing strategically in these emerging fields, India has the opportunity not just to follow, but to define the next frontiers of science,” Natarajan added.

Professor Rajesh Gopakumar, Director of the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS–TIFR) and a leading theoretical physicist, stressed the need to boost scientific research and strengthen international collaboration.

“To move forward, we need to open up our horizons. That means internationalising Indian science, globalising our benchmarks, and having the confidence to see science as an open-ended activity -- where new doors are opened through conversations across disciplines and across countries,” the expert added.

- IANS