scientific research

This is a continuation of my blog on knowledge economy. The University Grants Commission is trying to attract qualified people to teching profession by providing higher scales of pay. The Indian Institutes of Technology are trying to protect the faculty from 'reservation' issues. These are conscious decisions of the learned for proper growth of science and technology in the country. However, the political parties of the country, especially the present government and its comrades in the Parliament will derail such initiatives with an eye on the elections round the corner.

To talk of scientific research one has to ask several questions such as
(a) India boasts of having one of the largest contingent of qualified 'scientists' (I my talk about the qualified 'scientist' in my future postings). However, does it just remain a quantity or is there quality? Indian Space Research Programme may be an exception.
(b) There are a number of research institutions across the country either under the Defence Research & Development Organisation, or Council of Scientific and Industrial Research or the Department of Science and Technology. However, has there been an evaluation of inputs vs outputs whether it is with reference to financial inputs vs technological/scientific achievements? Or with reference to the number of patents filed vs patents utilised/sold? Or the products/processes developed by these institutions vs products/processes utilised by the user industries and what are the financial returns on such products/processes released?
(c) How much research activity is suffering due to bureaucratic hurdles and what steps if any have been taken to get over such hurdles?
(d)While so many research institutions are already existing why are newer institutions such as the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research and other such centres are created and funded? Are these institutions created just to keep the retired scientists/technologists/heads of R&D institutions/Professors and others on a pedestal so that they would not talk against the government and its policies on scientific research? Some of the luminaries in these institutions are perhaps comparable to the best in the world in their own field of specialisation and can stand on their own without the crutches such as these newer institutions. In fact the funds that are going to these institutions could as well be directed to the Universities and Institutions of Higher Learning such as IITs/Indin Institute of Science etc. who may be starved of funds for research .
To continue