Scientific research in Indian universities is declining, because a career in science is not as attractive…

Question

Scientific research in Indian universities is declining, because a career in science is not as attractive as are business professions, engineering or administration, and the universities are becoming consumer-oriented. Critically comment.

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

University research is weakened by the pull of better-paid careers and commercialised campuses, but the deeper causes are structural: research was separated into CSIR, DAE and ISRO laboratories and funding is thin and delayed. Universities performed only 8.8 per cent of India's R&D spending in 2020-21.

**Introduction**

India's R&D spending stayed near 0.6-0.7 per cent of GDP for two decades, reaching only 0.84 per cent in 2023-24, and universities performed only 8.8 per cent of it in 2020-21 (NSTMIS, DST). The statement explains part, not all, of the decline.

**Why the Statement Holds**

1. **Career pull**: Engineering, IT, management and the civil services offer early pay and status; a JRF stipend, even after its 2023 revision to Rs 37,000 a month, trails private salaries.
2. **Insecure research path**: Long PhD and postdoctoral contracts push many of the best abroad, a long-running brain drain.
3. **Consumer-oriented campuses**: Self-financing courses and placement-driven rankings treat students as customers and crowd out curiosity-driven research.

**Why It Is Only a Partial Explanation**

SKETCH: fishbone | Weak University Research
effect: Low university research output
- Career pull elsewhere
- Commercialised campuses
- Research split from universities
- Thin, delayed funding
- Faculty vacancies, teaching load

1. **Structural separation**: Since independence top research went to CSIR, DAE and ISRO laboratories, so state universities were never built as research hubs.
2. **Funding delivery**: CAG Report No. 17 of 2026 found 48.15 per cent of DST's 2023-24 provision unspent, while vacancies and teaching loads squeeze research time.
3. **Not uniform decline**: India awarded 40,813 doctorates in 2018-19, 60 per cent in science and technology (NSF), and IISc, the IITs and IISERs produce world-class work.
4. **Reform under way**: The ANRF Act, 2023, the Prime Minister's Research Fellowship and the Rs 1 lakh crore RDI Scheme (2025) address the funding gaps.

**Conclusion**

The statement is largely valid on motivation and commercialisation, but the deeper cause is institutional. Making universities the home of research again, with secure careers and timely funds, is essential for a knowledge-led Viksit Bharat.

Scientific research in Indian universities is declining, because a career in science is not as attractive as are business professions, engineering or administration, and the universities are becoming consumer-oriented. Critically comment.

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