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    India Must Protect Its Landmark Science Agency: Editorials

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    Abhijeet Jha

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    India Must Protect Its Landmark Science Agency: Editorials

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    India Must Protect Its Landmark Science Agency: Editorials

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    Editorials

    engaging, building trust, listening and acting on concerns. funding has been concentrated in government laborato-
    This must be seen as a necessary part of genomics research, ries and a network of prestigious institutes of science and
    and will be key to its future. technology, whereas the focus of universities has been on
    Commitments are also needed to improve the standards teaching. As a consequence, India had just 255 research-
    for data repositories. The repositories must be made more ers per million people in 2017 — a fraction of that in many
    accessible and less onerous to contribute to. Moreover, other countries. For example, Israel had 8,342 per million,
    their governance needs to better reflect diverse perspec- Sweden 7,597 and South Korea 7,498 in the same year.
    tives, not only of the global genomics research community, Generations of university-based researchers have
    but also of those whose data are being accessed. wanted access to resources on a par with those provided to
    As has been seen repeatedly during the pandemic, rapid their better-funded colleagues, and there have previously
    data sharing can provide massive benefits to science and, been discussions in government about creating an agency
    through science, to all of society. It’s time to shore up that like the NRF. That this ambition is now being realized is, in
    foundation and improve sharing practices — but always part, down to the foresight and diplomatic skills of biolo-
    with equity and respect. gist Krishnaswamy VijayRaghavan, who is the principal
    scientific adviser to the Indian government. Challenges
    such as eliminating poverty and providing clean drinking

    India must protect


    water, sanitation, quality education and health care will
    need a “deep understanding of the social sciences and
    humanities and the various socio-cultural dimensions of

    its landmark the nation”, VijayRaghavan told Nature.


    The government has not yet provided full details on
    The NRF is
    science agency the most
    where the NRF will sit in the nation’s public administra-
    tion. It could be attached to a government ministry — as the
    United Kingdom’s largest science-funding body is — or it
    significant could report to parliament, in a model closer to that seen in
    The new funding agency will allow thousands development the United States. The Indian government has pledged that
    of researchers to develop their talents. Its in India’s the NRF will operate autonomously, regardless of where it
    finds a home. This will be crucial. VijayRaghavan and his col-
    architects must ensure it is independent. research- leagues need to work with the government to ensure that
    funding

    I
    both grant recipients and those who run the agency can
    n a groundbreaking change, India’s neglected uni- policy in make decisions — such as appointing staff or peer review-
    versity and college researchers are getting a new at least a ers — without interference from government officials, as
    funding agency. The National Research Foundation is the convention in international science-funding policy.
    (NRF), announced in last week’s budget, will distribute decade.” India’s researchers have been voicing concerns over the
    100 billion rupees (US$1.37 billion) annually for its state’s undermining of research autonomy for some time.
    first five years, starting this year. It will have a particular In 2017, around 12,000 researchers participated in a march
    focus on interdisciplinary work, and research in colleges for science across 40 cities. In 2019, more than 100 econ-
    and universities. The launch of the NRF comes on top of omists wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging an
    plans to invest more than 40 billion rupees over 5 years end to political influence over official statistics — particu-
    for deep-ocean research; a pledge to set up 4 new virol- larly economic data. And just last month, the Ministry of
    ogy institutes; and a commitment to developing hydrogen Education told universities they must obtain permission
    energy (see page 189). from the government when organizing online events with
    These funding boosts will hopefully start to reverse the international speakers on topics that relate to the country’s
    steady decline that has blighted the country’s investment security or internal affairs.
    in research and innovation as a percentage of national The government says this last move is no different from
    income. In 2018, India spent 0.69% of its gross domestic universities seeking permission when inviting international
    product on research and development, compared with scholars to visit India for certain academic purposes, but
    0.84% a decade earlier. This compares with China’s 2018 researchers have told Nature that it is unnecessary because
    spending of 2.1% and South Korea’s of 4.2%. But the stellar universities already have procedures in place for vetting
    budget news for India’s researchers comes as academics conference speakers. They say that adding another bureau-
    continue to voice concerns about government interference cratic hurdle will simply result in fewer international speak-
    in their affairs. The benefits of the changes will be fully real- ers attending online events being hosted in India.
    ized only if the NRF is allowed to function independently. India’s NRF has been a long time coming. Its creation is an
    The importance of creating the NRF cannot be over- achievement of great vision. Enabling new generations of
    stated — it is the most significant development in India’s scholars to realize their potential will be its architects’ most
    research-funding policy in at least a decade. For more than important legacy to their nation. But it needs to start with
    70 years, researchers at India’s many thousands of colleges the right foundations. That means giving it protection from
    and close to 1,000 universities have had few sources of undue influence — not only from the current government,
    large grants. Most of India’s research and development but from its successors, too.

    184 | Nature | Vol 590 | 11 February 2021


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