Stakeholder Interaction on Industry Collaboration in India’s Research and Innovation Ecosystem

Author: Malyaj Varmani

The Office of Principal Scientific Adviser in collaboration with Invest India and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) convened a roundtable interaction with more than 35 multi-national industry leaders and government representatives across ministries and departments to identify and address opportunities and challenges towards boosting investment in Research and Development in India.

The half-day discussion was designed to emphasize thematic areas including data generation and access, specific issues and challenges, government support, global best practice, academic linkages, skill development, strategic outreach and the growing role of startups.

Majority of stakeholders in the room identified a need to:

• Track MNC’s expenditure and activities in R&D in India to facilitate data sharing and collaboration opportunities
• Bridge existing knowledge gaps between industry with academia through the development of industry-led research centres and entrepreneurship cells in university spaces
• Leverage the vast, talented pool of human capital in the country by standardisation of the academic curriculum through industry consultations and the requirement for adequate internship period in university curriculums
• Unlock policy and regulatory support through greater inclusivity of MNCs 

The recommendations from the MNC included the need for single-window support to industries to lessen the operational challenges in enhancing their R&D investments, inter-ministerial policy and programme to enable closer engagement of MNCs in national research and innovation eco-system. The need for regular interaction platform between government and MNCs for scaling up of research and innovation partnerships was highlighted. The interaction was well received by all relevant stakeholders.