As India sets its sights on becoming a developed country by the 100th anniversary of Independence in 2047, concrete goals are being defined for various sectors. Science will play a pivotal role in attaining this vision of reaping the demographic dividend, eliminating the gender divide, enabling longer and healthier life spans, ensuring economic security and equitable progress, effectively and inclusively adapting to the climate crisis and increasing India’s contributions to the world. Indian science must evolve from isolated islands of excellence in a few academic institutions to widespread adoption of the latest technologies and scientific methods to solve societal challenges. This will require broad-based investments in science (from primary education onwards), incentives and rewards for impactful research (different from purely academic achievements), partnerships (with NGOs and the private sector), and increased participation of under-represented sections of society, particularly women.
Continuously and significantly expanding investments in science are paramount for achieving India’s vision. Traditionally, investments in basic science necessarily come from government action on policy, implementation, and financing. These aspects are often determined by the political discourse, which, in turn, is shaped by people’s trust in, and perceptions of, science and scientists to tackle important challenges.
During and after the Covid pandemic, people’s trust in scientists grew. Given the prevalent infodemic of fake news and half-baked knowledge that pervades social media, it is even more important to inculcate a scientific temper in our young minds. Investments in evidence-informed solutions will sustainably increase when opinion in social discourse starts matching scientific opinion on pertinent issues. Mis- and disinformation, and their amplification in social media, are relatively new challenges. But these can become an obstacle to progress, if not effectively handled.
The government should prioritise those serious scientific problems that hold back progress for which solutions do not exist, or where market failures or high risks and uncertainty do not allow for private investment. Many recent missions such as BioE3, National Quantum Mission, and Deep Ocean Mission have tried to focus researchers’ attention on solving such problems. In an inspiring move, the 2025 Union Budget has more than doubled the allocation for science and technology initiatives.
Public goods in agriculture, environment, health, education, and finance make a compelling case for investment. In these areas, the entire process from discovery to development of the product, followed by implementation research and support for scaling must come from the government. Across Indian scientific laboratories, I am sure there are many examples of promising discoveries that are sitting on shelves, due to a lack of opportunities and incentives to take them forward. Tackling risks like air pollution, lead and arsenic poisoning, waste management and plastic pollution, especially in our water bodies and oceans, could be some of the big challenges thrown open for our scientific institutions to tackle in consortium mode.
Through more effective direct institutional grants, government investments should prioritise cutting-edge basic science in areas that will become foundational for building science-based solutions. Translational research for bridging basic science with proven applications, commercialisation, and broadening the base of research can be fuelled through partnerships. In India, we have a small but growing movement of corporates and high net worth individuals serving community needs by investing in scientific institutions, best exemplified by the Tata group over 100 years. The rising tide of private capital, indigenous philanthropy, and CSR that is complementary to government funding augurs well for widening the societal relevance of science. The government should continue to encourage private investments in science, for example by incentivising through tax breaks, viability-gap funding, and concrete partnership-based roadmaps.
Indian women have been global achievers in many fields. The tragic death of her newborn infant motivated Anandibai Joshi to overcome numerous barriers and study medicine at Women’s College of Pennsylvania. She became the first Indian woman physician in 1886. Though she succumbed the next year to tuberculosis, Dr Joshi has inspired generations of women doctors and medical researchers in India.
Despite many such illustrative cases, women are grossly under-represented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in India. A recent study of Indian STEM academic institutes found that only 16.6% of the faculty were women while the median for the top eight institutes as per the National Institutional Research Framework was a paltry 10%. Alarmingly, only 26.2% of these women were in the senior-career band pointing to a very narrow pyramid for women and persisting imbalances. Decades of evidence clearly shows that women in leadership positions enhance team and organisational effectiveness, cohesion, and fairness; reduce stereotypes and improve decision making.
Science and health institutional constructs in India will require system-wide and combined measures to solve deep inequities. A representative share of women should be made mandatory in decision-making bodies related to strategy, resource allocation, talent management, and career progression across organisations in the science sector. Institutional mechanisms must be set up and operated for mentoring and coaching of women across the hierarchy. Female role models can positively influence the preference of adolescents and young women towards STEM while breaking gender stereotypes. Measures such as creches/daycare services, maternity leave, breastfeeding rooms, flexible timings and work from home options must be uniformly implemented – this will do a lot to retain women in the workforce. It will be equally critical to take affirmative action that truly reflects the diversity of India by considering women not as a monolithic block, but as straddling socio-demographic segments such as marginalised communities, tribes, and deprived income groups; residents of neglected regions; and representatives of diverse cultural milieus.
The world recognises the leadership demonstrated by Indian science in serving society in domains such as agriculture and food security, space exploration, defence manufacturing, vaccines, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, and information technology. In the 76th year of the Indian republic, we take inspiration from these successes. But we can tackle emerging global threats to health and development only by increasing public investment in science, creating global public goods and inculcating a scientific temper in the population.
Soumya Swaminathan is chairperson, MS Swaminathan Research Foundation.The views expressed are personal
