The ANRF plan has got off on the Wrong Foot

The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), established to guide scientific research in India, lacks representation from the Indian industry and state universities, despite earlier promises that these entities would play significant roles in the foundation’s structure and benefits.

Need for National Research Foundation

• Increase R&D Funding:  India’s Gross Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD) stagnated at about 0.7 percent of GDP, which is less as compared to the 2% of the global benchmark.
• Strengthening the Industry-Academia Collaborations
• Develop research cells at State University

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Concerns

• Representation is not Balanced: More than 95% of students attend State universities and colleges in India, the board and the executive council do not have any members from Central or State universities or colleges.
  • In addition to the Principal Scientific Adviser, they are represented by people who are usually in any high-powered committees of the Government of India — Secretaries from all science departments (Department of Science and Technology (DST), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) etc
• Lack of Industry Representation: Current 15-member Governing Board includes only one industrialist, Romesh Wadhwani, an American billionaire of Indian origin.
• System is not free from bureaucratic hurdle
• Low Private Sector Investment: Only 36% of India’s research expenditure of roughly ₹1.2 lakh crore came from the private sector in 2019-20,
  • India’s expenditure on R&D hovers around 0.6% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
  • In China, Japan, South Korea and the U.S., the private sector contributed 70% of the research expenditure.
• Absence of State Universities:
  • Only academic institutions represented are the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR).

Way Forwards

• ANRF must: 
  • Be adequately staffed
  • Implement a robust grant management system
  • Have an internal standard peer-review system with an incentive for reviewers
  • Ensure timely disbursal of research grants and student fellowships with a quick turn-around time (less than six months) between application and fund disbursal
  • Have a system free from bureaucratic hurdles both at the funding body and at grantee institutions
  • Provide flexibility of spending money without following the government’s stringent general financial rules (GFR)
  • Permit purchases without going through the Government e-marketplace (GeM) portal.
• ANRF must function unlike any other current government science department: It should have more diverse representations of practising natural and social scientists from the university system, with more women and young entrepreneurs in its committee. 
• Expertise in Subject: Future chief executive officer of the ANRF must have a background in both industry and academia, and be someone who can raise money for the ANRF and understand the global innovation ecosystem. 
  • A complete overhaul is required for the ANRF to avoid becoming like any other government department and to bridge research and teaching in our universities.
• Creating a single committee: ANRF needs to avoid the confusion that can arise from multiple committees. Therefore, creating a single committee to formulate and implement strategies on the ground is crucial. 

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