Government pushes private sector to match public R&D spending. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan called for a fundamental shift in India's research landscape at the IIT-Madras Technology Summit 2026. Currently, the government funds 70 percent of research and development investments, but officials want a balanced 50:50 partnership with industry to accelerate innovation. Pradhan emphasized that research must translate from academic work into real-world products and solutions. The government is directing significant investments, including a proposed one lakh crore rupee fund, toward the private sector and startups. India's talent pool leads globally, yet a critical gap remains between domestic innovation and technology developed by Indians abroad that gets purchased back.
