ISLAMABAD: According to the planning, development and reforms minister, the Ministry of Science and Technology should come up with defendable projects that contribute to economic growth, to convince the government to fund research and development in the country.

“The government will support research and development in good projects that are linked with outcomes, and not just exhausting funds to complete projects related to science and technology,” said Minister Ahsan Iqbal at a meeting on Wednesday.

The science and technology ministry has been asking the government to increase funding for R&D from an insignificant 0.29pc of the GDP to 0.5pc in 2016.

The meeting was called to inform the planning and development minister about how 16 R&D departments under the science and technology minister had failed to deliver due to shortage in funding.

Science and tech ministry officials claim R&D depts. failed to deliver due to lack of funding

Officials from the ministry said that the shortage of adequate funding had caused a ‘brain drain’, and most researchers had left for better paying jobs abroad, while others had taken up university teaching positions. Officials said that some R&D departments might not survive if funding is not increased.

Pakistan Council for Scientific and Industrial Research chairperson Dr Shahzad Alam revealed that the government allocated between Rs200,000 to Rs300,000 for R&D. This was true for all the departments under the ministry. Dr Alam said that development in science and technology was the key to successful economic growth in industrial countries.

During the meeting, comparisons were drawn between R&D funding in Pakistan and in other countries. Pakistan injected at least 0.29pc of its GDP to R&D, while India contributed 0.82pc of its GDP, Turkey contributed 0.94pc, Malaysia contributed 1.13pc and Brazil contributed 1.15pc.

The countries that injected the most funding into R&D were Israel at 4.21pc of its GDP, South Korea at 4.15pc and Japan at 3.47pc.

The meeting was also informed that in Israel the share of the private sector in total R&D spending is around 80pc, more than 73pc in Japan, China, South Korea, over 70pc in Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, and 23pc in India. In Pakistan there is no data on contributions from the private sector to funding R&D.

Participants were also told that the minimum R&D spending recommended by Unesco for developing countries in 1pc of the GDP.

Minister for Science and Technology Rana Tanvir said his office planned to urge the government to increase funding to 1pc by 2018.

“Research and development funding has to be 2pc by the year 2023, because R&D spending is an important indicator of the competitiveness of the economy,” Mr Tanvir said, and urged the government to increase funding to 0.5pc of the GDP in this fiscal year.

The meeting was informed that R&D spending has been declining significantly since 2007.

Heads of various scientific departments, including the Pakistan Engineering Council, National University of Science and Technology and the National Commission for Science and Technology, pitched ideas to boost R&D in the country.

The suggested tax exemptions to industry, to the extent of equivalent amount spend on R&D activities, hiring trained manpower and PhDs in the industry, the promotion of local technology, and improving poor links between the public sector R&D system and the private sector.

The meeting was told that the decline of the sports, carpet and textile industries was also due to poor links between R&D and the export sector cluster.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2016