Indian S&T Landscape - Preamble
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India is country which integrates rich cultural heritage as well as science & technology. The tradition of science and technology (S&T) in India can be traced back to over 5,000 years. Science and technology achievements of ancient India are well documented with significant contributions in mathematics, astronomy, medicine, agriculture, botany, zoology, iatrochemistry and metallurgy even when Europe was passing through the Dark Age. The modern decimal number system originated in India in the 9th century. The concept of 0 as a number is one of the greatest attributions of India to the world. Takshila was the world’s first formal university set up in 700 BC dealing with over 60 subjects. Another university of repute was Nalanda University in the 4th century BC that was the fountainhead of learning contributing to societal growth and development. From having the third largest scientific and technical manpower in the world to the launch of satellites, Chandrayaan-1 is India's first mission to the Moon, development of new drugs, India is stepping fast on the ladder of becoming a science rich nation. Its S&T infrastructure has grown up from about Rs. 10 million at the time of independence in 1947 to Rs. 30 billion.
Science and technology is being used as an effective instrument for growth and change in the country. It is being brought into the mainstream of economic planning in the sectors of agriculture, industry and services. The country's resources are being used to derive the maximum output for the benefit of society and improvement in the quality of life.
The government has set-up public research centres throughout the country; National research facilities and infrastructure has been created at these institutions in various parts of the country. Apart from the University-level institutions, scientific research and technological development in India is carried out by a number of public funded and managed centres.
Responsibility of the research centres is vested within central government bodies, and notably the Ministries viz., Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Science and Technology, Department of Space, Department of Atomic Energy, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Ministry of Environment & Forests, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology; Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources and Ministry of Water Resources.
The Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO), Department of Space (DOS) and Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) are carrying out research in the areas of related to defence, space and atomic energy and fall in the category of strategic importance. The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), established in 1942, is the premier institution for scientific and industrial research with a network of 37 laboratories, two cooperative industrial research institutions and more than 100 extension and field centers. The Council's research programs are directed towards effective utilization of the country's natural resources and development of new processes and products for economic progress. It is now playing a leading role in the fulfilment of the technology missions evolved by the Government.>
Currently, there are around 400 universities in India of which nearly 25% provide quality R&D. A number of higher education institutions in India have gained international renown for their training, research, and development in the area of Science, Engineering & Technology. These are the seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs); the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore (IISc); three Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs); the twenty National Institutes of Technology (NITs); the six Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs); and the institutes specialized in knowledge management and information technology.
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