Newly Formed Empowered ‘Technology Group’ and COVID-19

In his third televised speech since the lockdown, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 12 May emphasised the ­notion of a technologically self-reliant India. Apparently, he referred to the term Atmanir­bhar Bharat at least 19 times in the 30-minute speech. However, an oft-­repeated complaint in India is that the country’s policy regime with respect to science and technology (S&T) has suffered from two major shortcomings. First, the country has been very slow in terms of having instruments of innovation policy that could identify and encourage local development of techno­logy to flourish. Second, is the contradictory nature of policies in India. There are many instan­ces of policies contradicting each other and thus resulting in a deleterious effect on policy outcomes.

Many of our important national S&T projects have not been taken to their logical completion—the National Civil Aircraft Development Project and the policy on nanotechnology, to name a few, are instances of very relevant research and development (R&D) projects that did not result in commercialised products and services. Despite a very sophisticated S&T establishment in the country whether in technology generation, standardisation or its diffusion, the country has lacked the benefit of having a real coordinating body to pull together different S&T acti­vities that are being pursued at the central and state levels, as well as those ­being pursued by industry. In this context the constitution of an empowered “Techno­logy Group,” in February 2020, to be chaired by the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of ­India with 12 members, needs to be welcomed.