Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Quantum shift: On private industry and national research spending

Quantum shift: On private industry and national research spending

Private R&D spends (व्यय, खर्च) should be used to bolster (सुदृढ़ करना, मजबूत करना) manufacturing

The Department of Science and Technology’s (विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी विभाग) latest figures (आँकड़ा, संख्या) on India’s research profile record (दर्ज करना, अभिलेखित करना) a milestone (मील का पत्थर, महत्वपूर्ण उपलब्धि). In 2023-24, private industry accounted for 51.8% of national research spending — a first in India’s history — overtaking all tiers of government combined for the first time. Moreover (इसके अतिरिक्त, इसके अलावा), industry now employs (नियुक्त करना, रोजगार देना) more core researchers (मुख्य शोधकर्ता, पूर्णकालिक शोधकर्ता) than government institutions. Transport firms are the largest corporate investors, followed by pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and information technology (IT). The break from the past (a significant departure from traditional or historical ways of doing things; departure from tradition, paradigm shift, deviation from history, radical change) is sharp (तीव्र, उल्लेखनीय). Through the 2010s, private industry contributed a little over (थोड़ा अधिक, कुछ अधिक) a third of (एक-तिहाई) national R&D, and the ratio (अनुपात, अनुपाती संबंध) moved slowly. Then, between 2020-21 and 2021-22, private spending (निजी व्यय) nearly doubled (दोगुना करना, दुगुना हो जाना) — from ₹46,388 crore to ₹82,975 crore — and total R&D jumped (to rise suddenly and significantly; surge, leap, skyrocket, increase) from ₹1.27 lakh crore to ₹1.95 lakh crore in a single year. R&D spends in the transport sector, which barely registered before 2020, has roughly tripled and leads the triumvirate that includes biotechnology and IT that are counted among India’s most research-intensive (involving a high level of research and development activity and expenditure; R&D-heavy, innovation-driven, heavily researched, knowledge-intensive) industries.

Officials (officer, administrator, bureaucrat, executive) attribute (to regard something as being caused by someone or something; ascribe, assign, credit, put down to) this to a post-pandemic (existing or occurring after the COVID-19 pandemic; after the pandemic, post-COVID, subsequent to the pandemic) realisation (awareness, understanding, comprehension, recognition) that research is essential to competitiveness (edge, competitive advantage, market strength), and that may be part of the story (an aspect of a larger situation or narrative; piece of the puzzle, component of the situation, factor). The purported (alleged, supposed, claimed, ostensible) investments for ‘23-’25 also look healthy (robust, strong, vigorous, sound), but a change concentrated (clustered, localized, focused, gathered) in one year looks less like a shift in corporate behaviour and more like a change in what is counted. Mandatory sustainability disclosures (revelation, declaration, announcement, publication) for large listed firms (a company whose shares are quoted and traded on a public stock exchange; public company, publicly traded company, listed company), and tighter (stricter, more stringent, rigorous, firm) RBI norms (standard, rule, regulation, criterion) on reporting research, took effect at the same moment (at the same time, simultaneously, concurrently, together). Spending that was always occurring — in the foreign subsidiaries of Indian companies, and in the captive centres (an entirely owned offshore or nearshore facility that provides service or operational support to the parent company; captive unit, in-house center, dedicated offshore facility, global capability center) of multinationals (a company operating in several countries; multinational corporation, global company, transnational company, MNC) — is only now being fully captured. Some of the surge (a sudden rise, increase, escalation, jump), in other words, reflects better measurement rather than more money. Genuinely new capital (funding, finance, funds, money) is flowing (to move steadily and continuously) too — into artificial intelligence (the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems; machine learning), chip design (semiconductor engineering, microchip design, integrated circuit design) and semiconductor (a solid substance that has a conductivity between that of an insulator and that of most metals, used to make computer chips; microchip material, integrated circuit base, silicon, solid-state component) fabs — though much of (a large part or amount of something; a great deal of, a significant portion of, plenty of, a lot of) that is still infrastructure building (the construction of basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation of a society or enterprise; infrastructure development, facility construction, structural development, asset building) and may not yet belong (to be correctly placed in a particular environment, context, or category; fit in, have a place, pertain, be classified) in the R&D column. India’s R&D stands at 0.84% of GDP, against 2.58% for China, 3.45% for the U.S. and 4.94% for South Korea; it fields 354 researchers per million people where South Korea and Israel field several thousand. The private sector’s own priorities are a further reason for caution: more was spent on advertising than on research in 2023-24. The shift will prove worthwhile if it deepens (expand, enlarge, increase, strengthen) India’s pool (a supply of resources, talent, or funds available for use) of specialised workers and its capacity for sophisticated (highly developed and complex; advanced, complex, elaborate, cutting-edge) manufacturing, carrying the economy beyond its long reliance (dependence, leaning, trust, banking) on supplying low-cost services. That depends less on how spending is recorded than on how many researchers the country can train. The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (a statutory body established under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Act, 2023 to seed, grow, and promote research and development (R&D) and foster a culture of research and innovation throughout India’s universities, colleges, research institutions, and laboratories), with a ₹50,000-crore corpus (the total amount of money set aside for a specific purpose; fund, capital, pool, reserve) largely (to a great extent or on the whole; mostly, mainly, primarily, predominantly) to be raised (to collect, gather, or acquire money or capital for a particular purpose; collect, gather, procure, generate) from private sources (funding or investment originating from non-governmental entities like corporations, philanthropists, or private investors; private funding, non-governmental funding, private capital, corporate investment), was created for precisely (in exact terms; exactly, absolutely, accurately, strictly) this purpose. Its promise (indication of future success or good results; potential, capability, capacity, hope) now rests on delivery (execution, accomplishment, achievement).

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.spend (noun)

Hindi Meaning - व्यय, खर्च
English Meaning - expenditure, spending, expense, outlay.

2.bolster (verb)

Hindi Meaning - सुदृढ़ करना, मजबूत करना
English Meaning - to support or strengthen something; strengthen, reinforce, boost, fortify.

3.Department of Science and Technology (DST) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी विभाग
English Meaning - a department under the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, responsible for promoting new areas of science and technology, strengthening scientific research, and formulating policies and programmes for the development of science, technology, and innovation in the country.

4.figure (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आँकड़ा, संख्या
English Meaning - a number, especially one which forms part of official statistics; statistic, number, data, value.

5.record (verb)

Hindi Meaning - दर्ज करना, अभिलेखित करना
English Meaning - register, achieve, log, document.

6.milestone (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मील का पत्थर, महत्वपूर्ण उपलब्धि
English Meaning - landmark, watershed, turning point, breakthrough.

7.moreover (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - इसके अतिरिक्त, इसके अलावा
English Meaning - besides, furthermore, in addition, additionally.

8.employ (verb)

Hindi Meaning - नियुक्त करना, रोजगार देना
English Meaning - engage, recruit, take on.

9.core researcher (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मुख्य शोधकर्ता, पूर्णकालिक शोधकर्ता
English Meaning - a researcher whose primary role is to conduct research and development (R&D) as their main professional activity; full-time researcher.

10.sharp (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - तीव्र, उल्लेखनीय
English Meaning - clear, distinct, marked, noticeable.

11.a little over (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - थोड़ा अधिक, कुछ अधिक
English Meaning -just over, slightly above, marginally more than, in excess of.

12.a third of (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - एक-तिहाई
English Meaning - one of three equal parts of a whole; roughly 33 percent, one-third.

13.ratio (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अनुपात, अनुपाती संबंध
English Meaning - proportion, percentage, fraction, correlation.

14.private spending (noun)

Hindi Meaning - निजी व्यय
English Meaning - private investment, non-government expenditure, corporate outlay, private capital.

15.double (verb)

Hindi Meaning - दोगुना करना, दुगुना हो जाना
English Meaning - multiply by two, increase twofold.

16.research-intensive (adjective)

English Meaning - involving a high level of research and development activity and expenditure; R&D-heavy, innovation-driven, heavily researched, knowledge-intensive.

17.quantum shift (noun)

English Meaning - a fundamental and important change with new ideas or thinking; major change, fundamental shift, drastic alteration, paradigm shift.

18.research profile (noun)

English Meaning - the overall description, characteristics, and accomplishments of a country’s or organization’s research activities; research record, scientific portfolio, academic footprint, research footprint.

19.account for (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - constitute, comprise, make up, represent.

20.break from the past (phrase)

English Meaning - a significant departure from traditional or historical ways of doing things; departure from tradition, paradigm shift, deviation from history, radical change.

21.jump (verb)

English Meaning - to rise suddenly and significantly; surge, leap, skyrocket, increase.

22.official (noun)

English Meaning - officer, administrator, bureaucrat, executive.

23.attribute (verb)

English Meaning - to regard something as being caused by someone or something; ascribe, assign, credit, put down to.

24.post-pandemic (adjective)

English Meaning - existing or occurring after the COVID-19 pandemic; after the pandemic, post-COVID, subsequent to the pandemic.

25.realisation (noun)

English Meaning - awareness, understanding, comprehension, recognition.

26.competitiveness (noun)

English Meaning - edge, competitive advantage, market strength.

27.part of the story (phrase)

English Meaning - an aspect of a larger situation or narrative; piece of the puzzle, component of the situation, factor.

28.purported (adjective)

English Meaning - alleged, supposed, claimed, ostensible.

29.healthy (adjective)

English Meaning - robust, strong, vigorous, sound.

30.concentrated (adjective)

English Meaning - clustered, localized, focused, gathered.

31.disclosure (noun)

English Meaning - revelation, declaration, announcement, publication.

32.listed firm (noun)

English Meaning - a company whose shares are quoted and traded on a public stock exchange; public company, publicly traded company, listed company.

33.tighter (adjective)

English Meaning - stricter, more stringent, rigorous, firm.

34.norm (noun)

English Meaning - standard, rule, regulation, criterion.

35.take effect (phrase)

English Meaning - come into force, become operative, become active, be implemented.

36.at the same moment (phrase)

English Meaning - at the same time, simultaneously, concurrently, together.

37.foreign subsidiary (noun)

English Meaning - a company operating in a foreign country that is wholly or partially owned by a parent multinational corporation; overseas branch, international branch, foreign offshoot.

38.captive centre (noun)

English Meaning - an entirely owned offshore or nearshore facility that provides service or operational support to the parent company; captive unit, in-house center, dedicated offshore facility, global capability center.

39.multinational (noun)

English Meaning - a company operating in several countries; multinational corporation, global company, transnational company, MNC.

40.surge (noun)

English Meaning - a sudden rise, increase, escalation, jump.

41.capital (noun)

English Meaning - funding, finance, funds, money.

42.flow (verb)

English Meaning - to move steadily and continuously.

43.capital flow (noun)

English Meaning - the movement of money or investment from one place, sector, or country to another; investment flow, movement of capital, financial flow, investment movement.

44.artificial intelligence (AI) (noun)

English Meaning - the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems; machine learning.

45.chip design (noun)

English Meaning - semiconductor engineering, microchip design, integrated circuit design.

46.semiconductor (noun)

English Meaning - a solid substance that has a conductivity between that of an insulator and that of most metals, used to make computer chips; microchip material, integrated circuit base, silicon, solid-state component.

47.fab (noun)

English Meaning - a semiconductor fabrication plant.

48.much of (phrase)

English Meaning - a large part or amount of something; a great deal of, a significant portion of, plenty of, a lot of.

49.infrastructure building (noun)

English Meaning - the construction of basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation of a society or enterprise; infrastructure development, facility construction, structural development, asset building.

50.belong (verb)

English Meaning - to be correctly placed in a particular environment, context, or category; fit in, have a place, pertain, be classified.

51.deepen (verb)

English Meaning - expand, enlarge, increase, strengthen.

52.pool (noun)

English Meaning - a supply of resources, talent, or funds available for use.

53.sophisticated (adjective)

English Meaning - highly developed and complex; advanced, complex, elaborate, cutting-edge.

54.carry beyond (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - to propel, advance, or lead something past its current limits or boundaries; propel past, advance past, push forward, elevate beyond.

55.reliance (noun)

English Meaning - dependence, leaning, trust, banking.

56.Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) (noun)

English Meaning - a statutory body established under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Act, 2023 to seed, grow, and promote research and development (R&D) and foster a culture of research and innovation throughout India’s universities, colleges, research institutions, and laboratories.

57.corpus (noun)

English Meaning - the total amount of money set aside for a specific purpose; fund, capital, pool, reserve.

58.largely (adverb)

English Meaning - to a great extent or on the whole; mostly, mainly, primarily, predominantly.

59.raise (verb)

English Meaning - to collect, gather, or acquire money or capital for a particular purpose; collect, gather, procure, generate.

60.private source (noun)

English Meaning - funding or investment originating from non-governmental entities like corporations, philanthropists, or private investors; private funding, non-governmental funding, private capital, corporate investment.

61.precisely (adverb)

English Meaning - in exact terms; exactly, absolutely, accurately, strictly.

62.promise (noun)

English Meaning - indication of future success or good results; potential, capability, capacity, hope.

63.rest on (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - depend on, rely on, hinge on, be founded on.

64.delivery (noun)

English Meaning - execution, accomplishment, achievement.