NITI Aayog: Fund Science & Tech Councils

New Delhi, Jul 10 (PTI) State governments should provide adequate financial resources to Science & Technology (S&T) Councils, and slightly restructure their governing bodies to drive innovation and technology-led growth, NITI Aayog said on Thursday.

In a report titled 'A Roadmap for Strengthening State S&T Council', the Aayog said that these councils must explore wider funding opportunities available with different departments of the central government for activities related to the overall mandate.

"State governments should provide adequate financial resources to the councils to enable them to carry out the regular activities effectively and to initiate new activities in advanced and emerging areas of S&T," it said.

The government think tank emphasised that it would be desirable that each state allocates at least 0.5 per cent of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) on S&T.

It also recommended that the governing body of the councils must be slightly restructured and expanded so as to make it more capable of taking informed policy decisions and strategic planning.

"The Governing Council may continue to be chaired by the Chief Minister or the S&T Minister of the state, as the case may be; however, it must be expanded to include more expertise," it said.

The think tank suggested that the councils should also explore establishing linkages with industry bodies, PSUs, and other possible support agencies in the state for attracting support and financial resources for different activities.


"Such linkages will indirectly help promote university-industry interaction in different activities of the councils," it said.

While noting that the councils should have a core manpower strength to drive the major activities of the councils in an effective and accountable manner, the Aayog said all such positions should be fully supported by the state government, ensuring financial stability and commitment.

It pointed out that while some states have leveraged S&T institutions to drive innovation and technology-led growth, others face several challenges related to fragmented mandates, irregular funding flows, and weak institutional capacities.

Many councils are constrained by non-regularised manpower, absence of performance-linked incentives, and limited autonomy in decision-making, impeding long-term planning and execution, it said.

The State S&T Councils, with their limited resources, have made a significant contribution in supporting patent facilitation, remote sensing applications and GI mapping, grassroots innovation, science popularisation, and capacity-building programmes.

In recent years, India's R&D ecosystem has witnessed expansion in absolute terms, with Gross Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD) increasing from Rs 60,196.75 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 1,27,380.96 crore in 2020-21.

It is noteworthy that India's R&D funding structure is still largely government-driven.

State S&T Councils operate within a shared national framework, but their capacities and priorities are shaped by the regional requirements of the state, resources available to them, and institutional support they have available to them.