Building Research Capacity in Resource Limited Countries

Abstract

One of the most significant current discussions is about building research capacity in resource limited countries. In India, the issue has grown its importance in the light of Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh’s growing concern on the fact that India’s relative position in the world of science and technology has been declining and been overtaken by countries like China. Although, India’s Research & Development (henceforth, R&D) expenditure has risen from close to Rs. 162,000 million in 2000-01 to nearly Rs. 378,000 million seven years later, however, according to statistics published by Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, it is less than 0.9% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is expected to rise to only 2% by the end of the 12th Plan period (2012-2016). India ranks 10th in terms of published citable scientific documents (1996-2010) but the quality (H index) of the research output ranks far behind and stands at 24th position. Importantly, in terms of ranking of the world universities in 2010, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IITD) is ranked at 218, the highest ranking achieved by any Indian universities; and only 6 other universities ranked among the top 500 universities. Similarly, the top Indian scientific journal, Current Science, ranks 1791 in terms of H index (55). Against these backdrops, this article is an attempt to review strategies and approaches to Research Capacity Building in low- and middle-income countries with reference to Indian Universities.

Keywords: Research, Capacity, Building, Resource Limited Countries, India