Marking India’s journey towards self reliance in technology, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on India’s 76th Independence Day said it was necessary to add Jai Anusandhan (research and innovation) in Lal Bahadur Shastri famous slogan of Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan.
“Later, Atal Bihari Vajpayee added 'Jai Vigyaan' to this slogan. Now, there is another necessity to add, Jai Anusandhan (research and innovation). Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyaan aur Jai Anusandhan,” PM Modi in his speech.
He said he had faith in the youth of India to harness the power of innovation. India’s digital payments infrastructure and unified payments interface (UPI) helped India’s fintech sector to claim its rightful place in the world.
“About 40 per cent digital transactions of the world are happening in India. India has achieved it. We are now moving towards 5G very soon. We are making optical fibre available in every village of this country. The dream of Digital India passes through villages of this country. I am happy that India’s 4,00,000 common service centres are being developed in the villages,” Modi said.
He said that the Digital India movement, semi-conductor manufacturing, 5G rollout, spreading of optical fibre network, is not only a journey towards self reliance but the next revolution in education, health services, and every other aspect of life would usher in through Digital India.
“This decade is the decade of technology. India has created a name in the world of information technology. So India has the backbone to make the best of this decade. Atal Innivation Mission, our start ups, our incubation centres are all together creating a new sector which is bringing new opportunities for India’s youth,” PM Modi said.
The Prime Minister’s speech assumes significance in the backdrop of a study that found India’s spend on research and development (R&D) was among the lowest in the world. A study conducted by NITI Aayog and Institute for Competitiveness found that R&D investment in India fell from 0.8 per cent of the GDP in 2008–09 to 0.7 per cent in 2017-18.
Compared to other BRICS nations, India’s gross expenditure on R&D (GERD) was low. Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa spend around 1.2 per cent, 1.1 per cent, above 2 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively. The world average was around 1.8 per cent.
The Economic Survey also highlighted that India lags behind China and US in patents because of low R&D spend. The number of patents granted by India was a fraction of what is granted by Japan, China, and the US, the survey said.
