There too were some shining achievements in the era of planned development by Indian scientists and technologists in diverse fields. The mastering of atomic energy was a case in point in contrast to what has happened under UPA government headed by Mr. Manmohan Singh which took fancy for nuclear deal with USA. The development of catalysts for petrochemical - fertilizer industries was rewarding till it was scuttled by vested interests of the private business sector which required dominant policy - making role in government in eighties. There has also been good R&D work for metals and machine making industries as well as in healthcare before WTO imposed trade related intellectual property rights were accepted. The disconcerting fact is that a sharp and steady decline overall in R&D in the two decades of market - driven economic growth process.

The inappropriate application of indigenous technologies for economic growth with equity and social development has in particular suffered gravely. Public funding of R&D in commercial and industrial undertakings in the public sector industry and agriculture has been drastically curtailed. Private business enterprise has wound up whatever sporadic and limited R&D activity it had been earlier undertaking.

The market - friendly economic reform process by its very nature is unrelated to the wider economic and social concerns. Its overriding priority is profit maximisation. It is not surprising that competitive edge of Indian industry as well as organised services has blunted in the global context as well as within the domestic arena. The lure for the imported and the so - called latest technologies has so overwhelmed the urge for domestic R&D for the development of indigenous and appropriate technologies for application at the given level and stage of India's economic and social conditions.

Indian scientists and technologists, in spite of bureaucratic hurdles and ideological - political indifference has shown in the era of planned development initiative and perseverance in their R&D work, specially in public sector industry and Indian agriculture. But they were actively snubbed and obstructed by policy-makers and administrators in the so-called reform era. The market-friendly economic growth strategy under the globalisation banner has openly and wantonly restricted the space for indigenous technology to develop. The hankering for the import of the “latest” rather than appropriate technologies in the name of accelerating economic growth has led to the opening up of market in India, feverishly and recklessly for the inflow of foreign investment and technology as well as import of final goods and services for current consumption of the elite segment of the population. This has made Indian investment and business interests indifferent to even the adaptation of imported technology by indigenous R&D, let alone the development as Indian technology for application in industrial and commercial enterprises.

The large corporate interests, not only in the private but also public sector industry have been indeed induced in this environment to rely on “proven” technologies under invidious and costly collaboration arrangements with foreign suppliers rather than engage in the arduous R&D effort. This tendency, having gained ascendancy in the industrial sector is now engulfing Indian agriculture too. Agricultural Research Organisations and extension services, which played a commendable role in making the Green Revolution work for the production of wheat and rice in India have suffered large cuts in funding by the government. Opportunities are being opened up for multinational corporations to enter Indian agribusiness and supply seeds and other inputs for large-scale corporate agriculture.

Even Defence projects and strategic areas such as atomic energy and space are now facing financial stringency and uncertainties and government is planning for costly import of armaments from the developed countries, especially the USA, rather than R&D in India for the development of indigenous capabilities for security, external and internal. The import of equipment for police and para military forces are feverishly being arranged in collaboration with US intelligence and weapon - making US big business in the name of fighting terror threat and national security.

India made imports of technology as well as sophisticated machinery, capital goods and expert services to kick start development of modern industry in the public sector after gaining political independence. This may have been unavoidable, to begin with, because of the backward and extremely underdeveloped economy left behind by the colonial rule. But a bold and determined effort was also initiated to absorb and eventually indigenise imported technology for capital and intermediate goods industry to become self-sustainable in economic growth on the basis of domestic investment not only in the public sector but also in the private sector.

India had indeed achieved a position by the end of the seventies to become very selective in respect of the import of technology for economic development as well as security. The planners then laid down as overriding principle that managements in the public and private enterprises would go by the advice of domestic consultancy services for importing technology and maximise the use of indigenous capital goods in the production of machinery and technical capabilities for new investment. This was intended to develop standardisation of inputs and efficiency in the use of domestic resources, human and material as well as optimising the value of imported inputs.

These sound principles were often ignored during even the era of planned development when bureaucracy in collusion with private big business interests allowed import of technology and associated equipment and services under foreign technical and financial collaboration deals. The restrictions on repetitive import of technology remained weak in particular in the case of private corporate industry. Financial and other incentives offered for R&D were not even taken advantage of fully to indigenise technology projects.

There was abrupt halt to the policy of selective application of technological inputs and skills already developed by Indian R&D, primarily in the public sector after the process of structural adjustment of the Indian economy on market - friendly liberalisation - globalisation basis was initiated in1991. The shift of emphasis away from import substitution and open door for foreign capital and liberalised imports has since provided vast opportunities to multinational corporations to disrupt and distort the external as well as domestic linkages and equilibrium of the existing production structure and technological capabilities in India. (IPA Service)