Policy persistence

Recent announcement by India (1) to hike R&D expenditures significantly is a welcome change. Even though, the amounts pledged are too little to make any difference, the move toward understanding that growth of an economy is fundamentally driven by innovation and not artificially controlled currency advantages and strategic regulations, will help in the long run. Equally important is policy persistence – India has shown high proclivity to dramatically reversing policies every five years. Politicians have held the country back for over half a century by short sighted and uncertain policy regimes. Independent boards with long tenures and the right incentives are imperative to move forward.

Enriching science education may not be enough. India's elite always had access to excellent education. What has been lacking is an environment that is stable and one that welcomes investments without bureaucracy. Science has to progress toward innovation and then application to transform the economics of the country. Every policy change accompanied by a significant allocation in resources always resulted in waste and in many cases fraud. And, as usual, bureaucracy may eliminate the participation of the high achievers. It is unclear if it will be any different this time around. 

To assure the country progresses to its potential, policy makers have to focus on a consistent and persistent policy toward science and innovation. They have to also assure that the implementation of such policies are efficient.

(1) Science 24 February 2012: Vol. 335 no. 6071 pp. 904-910
DOI: 10.1126/science.335.6071.904 Science in India, India Rising Richard Stone*