Why India lacks Interest in Research? Date:   Wednesday , November 02, 2011 With Israel spending 4.53 percent, Sweden 3.73 percent, Finland 3.45 percent, Japan 3.39 percent, and South Korea 3.23 percent respectively of their GDP on research; India spends just 0.9 percent of its GDP on research and ranks 34th. The statistics express the state of the country, the degree of competition and the passion to progress. Research has made its presence felt in each and every field; from businesses to services, and from the private to public sector. Studies have shown that firms with a persistent research strategy outperform those with an irregular or no research investment programme. So why does India lack an interest in spending on research? For a country, research is not just a profit generator, but a long-term investment, which will bring revenues for the country in years to come. For a product-based company, research helps create new products, while for a services-based company; it helps to generate more knowledge, which gives it an edge over others. In a letter written by National Knowledge Commission (NKC) Chief Sam Pitroda to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, India's dismal position in the global research map is highlighted. Pitroda also highlights that there is an uneven quality of PhDs across institutions, to a point where PhDs can be purchased. If such people join the pool of researchers, what will the standard of research in India be, and what about the quality of the products and services? In Germany, five published papers in peer-reviewed journals, out of which a minimum of three should pass the standards test, are sufficient to acquire a PhD. This not only encourages people to pursue their doctorates, but also add to the talent pool, refining the country's standing in the field of research. In other countries, researchers are paid huge sum and they spend years altogether on research. These researchers are encouraged by their government to carry forward the research for the betterment of the country that they prefer to stick on to research rather than working elsewhere. But in India, since the research scenario is not upto the mark, people who have received their doctorates work as associates, or as lecturers, and gradually tend to move on to other fields, which pay them well. In IITs, considered one of the premier institutes, the average salary for B.Tech graduates has reached record levels, as compared to their PhD fellows, most of who ended up joining research labs or signed up for teaching positions. The average ratio of average starting salary of graduates to masters and doctorates for MIT, U.S. and University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, U.S. shows that the average master's salary is 22 to 26 percent higher than the bachelor's students and the doctorate student's salary is 45 to 58 percent higher than other students. For a product-based company, research helps to know what products and services are actually needed by the customers, which is a cheaper option than manufacturing products and getting to know it is not the right one. It helps to decide on the right price for the products, as products which are not researched upon end up being priced exorbitantly and are not upto the industry standard. It helps to develop a fair and proper pricing policy to survive in the market. Due to lack of research in product, Indian products lack to bridge the gap between the product and the faith of the customers, which ends up making the customers buy products from MNCs. Even though the cost of raw material in India is low, its products don't match up to the global standards in terms of price and reliability. Investment in research helps companies to foresee the upcoming changes and device strategies and processes to adapt to changes, apart from influencing the changes, but still the Indian IT companies spend less than one percent of their revenues on R&D. Research would help foster the skills across industries. Companies focusing on outsourcing would be able to create robust methodologies, and technologies from the supplier or vendor's perspective. Software companies, who do research, would be able to look beyond reliability and dependability of vendors, and develop alternative approaches to software development which would enhance productivity and quality. In the Indian scenario, the problems faced are with regards to how to conduct research (in-house or having an independent research body)? This leads us to another vital question, who all would constitute the research group? The biggest roadblock comes with regards to the funding of the research. Though companies have started to realize the importance of research, but in order to be at par with their global counterparts, the investments in research have to be increased to atleast two to three percent of the revenues. According to Zinnov, a leading management consulting company, India has almost 35 percent lesser operating costs, as compared to China, and is becoming one of the most sought-after centers for research for MNCs. So, why can't the government also show its interest and boost the domain? What is stopping India from beefing investing in research and matching the global standards? Is it the lack of interests, funds, or mere ignorance? Whatever it be, one thing is sure, that if India wants to be at par with the other countries in terms of development, it has to invest more of its time and money in research.