Raghunath A Mashelkar, director-general of the CSIR, in his presentation to the PM said ‘‘India’s competitive base is eroding and the relative rank of China rising in the world order’’.

India today spends only about US$ 5 billion on R&D every year amounting to 0.9 per cent of the GNP. In comparison, China spends about 1.3 per cent of its GDP on R&D and by 2020 wants to increase spending on science and technology to US$ 112 billion.

Sibal told The Indian Express that if India had to be a frontrunner in the knowledge economy ‘‘the investment in R&D has to go up to 1.1 per cent of total GNP in the next two to three years and should actually reach about three per cent in a decade so that India can build further on its good base of excellence’’. The minister added: ‘‘India surely needs to increase its human resource in terms of quality and numbers so as to be reckoned as a frontrunner in the world knowledge space’’.

The council has, as members, 30 top scientists of the country, from top engineers like Anil Kakodkar of the Department of Atomic Energy to basic science researchers like Indian Institute of Science chief P Balaram.

The Prime Minister’s Office said the ‘‘SAC also expressed its concern over excessive bureaucratic and political interference in the functioning of research institutions and universities’’. However, no discussion seems to have taken place on the raging controversy at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

... contd.