Private Sector & Research: Jitendra Singh

New Delhi, Apr 10 (PTI) Union Minister Jitendra Singh has called for greater participation from the private sector, including through CSR initiatives, to support and sustain research and innovation, particularly in emerging areas and startups.

Releasing two reports titled "Ease of Doing Research & Development in India" and the "Survey Report on Ease of Doing R&D in India" on Thursday, the Science and Technology Minister ( Independent charge) noted that research flourishes in an environment free of impediments and highlighted India's strong human resource base.

According to an official statement, the reports are the outcome of an extensive exercise conducted over a period of approximately nine months, involving outreach to over 400 institutional leaders and insights from more than 850 distinguished scientists and researchers across the country.

Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser, noted that improving the ease of doing R&D is a continuous process and stressed the importance of implementing the report's recommendations, with the study serving as a dynamic working document.

Niti Aayog Member VK Saraswat highlighted the diversity of institutional contexts in which research is conducted across India, while noting a strong consistency in the challenges faced by researchers.


According to the statement, he emphasised that these challenges span both internal institutional processes and external ecosystem factors, including funding architectures, policy frameworks, and regulatory systems.

In his address, Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery highlighted that translating research into practical applications remains a key priority.

He emphasised the need for institutional structures for mission-mode R&D, including an enhanced participation of the private sector.

Bery further noted that as research increasingly spans multiple domains, the need for flexible and responsive systems becomes more evident, as rigid structures can limit collaboration while adaptable frameworks can open up new avenues of inquiry.

He called for taking this report as a guidance document for improving the overall R&D ecosystem of the country.