India with its cost-competent and large pool of scientific talent can become a global manufacturing and R&D hub, and the MNCs could turn to us for outsourcing their key requirements and innovative R&D, said senior scientist Dr RA Mashelkar. He was speaking at the ASCI foundation lecture 'Technoglobalism: The Indian Opportunity & Challenge', at the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) at Hyderabad.

The cost of R&D is increasing phenomenally. High technology goods have doubled their share of world merchandise in the last twenty years while the share of primary products have dropped by half. More than half of the GDP of major OECD countries is attributed to the production and distribution of knowledge. There is shortage of R&D personnel in some emerging high technology areas in industrialized countries. Companies are now looking out for accessing high quality scientists, engineers and designers.

All the factors are becoming favourable to India. “Quality R&D can be done in India at a fraction of the global cost. Last year, India’s total R&D expenditure stood at $ 5 billion, which is less than Pfizer’s R&D budget alone,” said Dr. Mashelkar.

A recent Goldman Sachs report predicts by 2050, India will be the third largest economy after China and USA. By 2050, India has the potential to occupy the first position amongst the knowledge-producing centre in the world.

With India on the verge of becoming global R&D hub, demand for creation of quality human capital would increase, enhancing competition among institutions to seek the best brains in the country. Henceforth, Dr Mashelkar was of the view that the scientific institutions will have to create an intellectually stimulating, rewarding and ‘hassle free’ environment to keep these researchers with them. Therefore, a sustained commitment to invest in science and technology, strengthen research infrastructure, capability development, integration of new technologies into products, accessibility to global sources of innovation, and above all the protection of intellectual property have to be stepped up, asserted Dr Mashelkar.