Science & Technology Industry Analysis

India has a strong network of science and technology institutions and trained manpower. It has the third largest scientific and technical manpower in the world. As of August 2020, there were ~950 universities in the country. India’s gross expenditure on R&D (GERD) has been consistently increasing over the years. India’s GERD as a percentage of GDP remained at 0.7% between 2018 and 2019. India’s medical technology (MedTech) sector is forecast to reach US$ 7.8 billion in 2020 and US$ 9.6 billion in 2022.

India is among the top-ranking countries in the field of basic research. India stood third in the number of science and engineering publications in the world.

The engineering R&D and product development market in India is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 10.65 per cent to reach US$ 42 billion by FY22 from US$ 31 billion in FY19. By 2022, R&D expenditure is targeted to reach at least two per cent of the country’s GDP. In the Union Budget for FY20, the Government announced setting up of National Research Foundation for R&D.

The Government of India is extensively promoting research parks technology business incubators to promote innovative ideas till they become commercial ventures. In August 2020, CAWACH, was launched as Department Of Science & Technology (DST) programme to support start-ups, which have developed indigenous products/solutions across various domains such as ventilators & medical devices, disinfectants, PPE kits, diagnostic kits and informatics. Out of the 826 applications received, 51 start-ups have been extended for the first round of funding. India Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched space technology incubation centre in Tripura, Agartala. ISRO has planned 36 missions including satellites and launch vehicles in FY21.

In Union Budget 2020-21, the Government has announced allocation of Rs 6,302 crore (US$ 901.70 million) to the Ministry of Science and Technology, Rs 2,787 crore (US$ 398.77 million) to the Department of Biotechnology and Rs 5,385 crore (US$ 770.50 million) to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

India's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy prepared by NITI Aayog outlined a way forward to harness the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in different fields. Accenture offers a framework for assessing the economic effect of AI for selected G20 countries in its latest AI research studies and forecast that AI will raise India's annual growth rate by 1.3 percentage points by 2035.

F - forecasted, * in Purchasing Power Parity terms

R&D – Research and Development