[ad_1]
Research and innovation have been considered as two pillars of economic growth in any society or country. While innovation deals with redefining the process for achieving the same outcome with higher efficiency, less consumption of energy, at cheaper rate in environmental and user-friendly way, research generally deals with creating something new, something which did not exist at least in that society and country. Perhaps, the endeavor starts with innovation and transits to research. While enough stress has been laid in India on innovation in recent times, research was given thrust by the country’s leadership right at the start of the republic.
With this vision, organizations like Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), etc were established focusing on the country’s immediate needs and perceived requirements of the future.
It may be worth appreciating that most of these research organizations have done wonderfully well in bringing out new technologies and bridging technological gaps even when the funding on research and development in India is a pale shadow of that in European, American and even some Asian countries. Indian green revolution, white revolution, Chandrayan, Mangalyan, PSLV, GSLV, Mission Shakti-ASAT, Agni, Arjun MBT, Tejas fighter aircraft, Arihant submarine, world’s longest range artillery gun ATAGS, Brahmos supersonic missile, hypersonic technology demonstrator and a large variety of indigenous missiles, sonars, radars, torpedoes and other weapons platforms all speak volumes of the prowess of Indian scientists and engineers engaged in the technical academic, R&D and industrial institutions.
Let us now look at the kind of research work being done by our research organizations and contribution of academic institutions and industry to such research activities. A quick look at the above success stories brings out very clearly that the impact is seen only when the disruptive or transformational research fructifies. ISRO had been firing various types of rockets in 1960s-70s. But the impact was understood by the public at large when ‘Aryabhatta’ satellite was launched or when India achieved the capability of satellite launch.
The public is actually not aware of a large number of technologies developed for engines, materials, electronics, etc. to meet these challenges. Similarly, as long as DRDO was more in indigenizing military hardware thill about 1980s, the impact of defence research was not felt. Only when transformational R&D on missiles, aircraft, underwater platforms and sensors started maturing, the general public became aware of DRDO. As in case of ISRO, even in DRDO’s endeavor, the success of these mega programmes was based on advances made in various technologies ranging materials to explosives, from electronics to photonics and from microwave to ultraviolet waves.
Clearly, for an organization to make it’s presence felt, research in transformational or disruptive technologies has become an imperative across the world. Defence Advance Research Project Agency (DARPA) of USA is a case in point. DARPA has become a household name not only in USA but also in India and is considered as epitome of success. DARPA, as its own documents say, focuses only on disruptive research. However, less unknown is the fact that DARPA’s disruptive or transformational achievements are built on long term envisaged goals with incremental research undertaken in phased manner.
Not all endeavors of DARPA succeed. And even those that succeed, take long time to find application and sometimes with political interference. Basic technologies of internet, for example, were demonstrated in the 1960. But it was not until 1990s that internet saw it commercial applications. Another example is the demonstration of stealth technology which needed more than twenty years and political will to find military application in USA. Research is a long-term engagement with science, often coming out with the findings as to what cannot be achieved through a particular process than what can certainly be.
Till not very recent past, the successes of Indian science, scientific organizations and scientists had often got ignored in favour of foreign technologies and systems. For long, as country, we depended on foreign imports for anything and everything needing modern technology. Thus, we imported technologies and license produced battle tanks, artillery, small arms, vehicles, fighter aircraft, underwater and surface platforms, trains, technical fabric, yarn, generators, motors, telephones, mobiles, drugs, soaps, toothpastes and a host of items in the country. While this route may have helped in establishing industry in the country and faster availability of items, it was a miserable failure for it made us perpetually dependent on foreign countries for technology.
India became world’s largest importer of arms, thus bleeding the economy of precious foreign exchange, reducing the scope of indigenous R&D and continuing influence of foreign powers in matters related to security of the nation. We bought technology for T-72 (named ‘Ajeya’) tank to be produced in the country and then we bought again the technology of T-90 (named ‘Bhishma’) tank. We bought the technology of MiG-21 and again bought the technology of MiG-29 and Su-30.
For effecting even a small upgrade or customization in any of the subsystems, we remained perpetually dependent on foreign technology majors and subject to international diplomatic pulls and pressures. It may also be interesting to note that even though India bought most of its military hardware from private companies in Europe or America, Indian private sector was seldom involved in the production of any military hardware with foreign technology in the name of security. The technology transfers remained solely in the domains of defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) or the erstwhile Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).
The DPSUs and OFB factories did involve private sector companies as part of their supply chain and indigenization plans, but that was too little an effort for the capability and capacity of Indian intellect. It is the to the credit of DRDO and ISRO that both these organizations, even though they are strategic departments of the Government of India, involved private sector extensively in their research and development activities. However, their efforts faced challenges. ISROs’ total production requirements have never been too large. DRDO developed equipment have to undergo long cycles of third-party evaluation in hot weather, cold weather, high altitude, accelerated trials, quality assurance trials, maintainability trials and general staff evaluation. For a minor failure or a degraded performance observed in trials, the whole trial cycles gets repeated, many a times by another trial team.
Notwithstanding these facts, the efforts of DRDO and ISRO enabled private sector industry to develop modern state of art infrastructure, skill and capability to undertake development, limited series production and large scale production of advanced technology products, whenever the induction of such technology and products got approval.
Perpetual dependence of license production mode of technology induction in the country was realized by the present political leadership which laid emphasis on ‘Atmnirbharata’ in all fields. The recent pronouncements of the government, progressive increase of indigenous military systems in armed forces, whole of nation approach in R&D, proposals to set up special purpose vehicles (SPVs) with private industry for major military weapons and platforms and skill up India, Startup India etc. have all been designed to fast-track self-reliance in all critical fields. In a short period, the results have started showing up. The country has developed its own metro coaches and fast speed trains, so far imported from Japan and China. India has its own aircraft carrier, so far imported from Russia. India is now exporting supersonic missiles to Philippines and Tejas is likely to get export orders from multiple countries. India has even proposed to set up manufacturing plant of Tejas in Egypt. The leap in technology is all visible.
With Government of India being the major funding agency for R&D in the country, the major research efforts have been led by Government research laboratories so far. This is not unique to India. Research has been initially funded by Governments and primarily conducted in Government institutions across the world. Later on, as the countries progressed economically, privately funded research institutions have also come up. The day is not far when India’s private sector will start contributing to R&D even financially to reap in the fruits of advanced technologies and opened up global market, as has been the trend elsewhere.
The author is Director-General (SAM and TM), DRDO, Government of India; views are personal.
[ad_2]
Source link