First Roundtable on R & D Services Exports

An Initiative of the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser & the Department of Commerce

PSA unveiled a prototype of "R&D Services Exports E-commerce Portal

The Office of Principal Scientific Adviser and the Department of Commerce took the initiative through the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) to organize, over videoconference, the 1st Roundtable on the “Promotion of R&D Services Exports”. Shri Sharad Kumar Saraf, President, FIEO delivered the welcome address. Keynote speaker at the Roundtable was Prof. K Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India. Dr. Arabinda Mitra, Scientific Secretary, addressed the Roundtable. Shri Bidyut Behari Swain, Special Secretary, Department of Commerce delivered the opening remarks. Dr. Ajay Sahai, Director General and CEO, FIEO moderated a panel of experts from MEITY, RBI, NASSCOM, IIFT to share their proposal for a roadmap to promote R&D exports from the country.

Context of the Roundtable: 

There is ample global evidence that Research and development (R&D) is a key driver of productivity and economic growth. Investment in R & D lead to positive rewards globally. To achieve India’s ambition to be a USD 5 trillion economy there is need for the government and industry to work together to invest in manufacturing, R&D and make India a global hub for the export of R&D Services. 

Roundtable Participation:

The Roundtable had over 180 participants that included scientists, government and private research organisations, senior officials from the Department of Commerce, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs, Reserve Bank of India, Department of Science & Technology, Department of Bio Technology, Department of Telecom, MEITY, CSIR, ICMR, ICAR, industry leaders, members of the trade, exporting community, academia, start-ups etc. 

Industry Representation:

Industry leaders from Philips India Ltd, Deki Electronics Ltd, Siemens Ltd, Cyient Ltd, Robert Bosch Engineering & Business Solutions Ltd, Electra EV, General Electric India, Landisgyr shared the challenges faced by them in the exports of R&D services from the country.

Messages: 

Prof K VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India while delivering the keynote address said that COVID-19 pandemic has many lessons for the future. One striking lesson is that countries need to step up their investment in R&D in order to prevent such a crisis. Investment in R&D also needs to be undertaken through global collaboration and coordination. This has underscored the importance of exchange of R&D services across the globe. R&D exports are more relevant today than ever. He added that the attention of policy makers so far has been on high-tech merchandise exports as a country’s engagement in high technology exports (HTX) reflects the sophistication of its economy, level of productivity and future capabilities. Government appreciates the need to propel growth in the services sector and boost its exports in the R&D sector. He said that we need more FDI to flow into the sector, more enterprises to come in and set up their R&D facilities in the country. India has targeted an FDI investment of US$ 500 mn in the coming year. It is important to align with “Atmanirbhar Bharat” mission of achieving self-reliance. Prof K VijayRaghavan highlighted the business opportunity on R&D services offered by FIEO through its mobile app Niryat Mitra, wherein global Technology requests, technology offers and also global R&D collaboration opportunities are covered.

Dr. Arabinda Mitra, Scientific Secretary, O/o PSA touched upon the various key initiatives of the office of Principal Scientific Adviser like role of Empowered Technology group (ETG) to integrate R&D labs in the connecting with industry, start-up ecosystem focused on deep tech startup and establishment of I-STEM portal to improve access to infrastructure across the ecosystem.

Launch of the prototype of the "R&D Services Exports E-commerce Portal":

Prof K VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India launched a prototype of the R&D Services Exports eCommerce Portal which will enable the interested Indian parties to create their eStore on the Portal with ease, go global and also transact business. While unveiling the prototype of R&D Services Exports E-commerce Portal, Prof. Vijay Raghavan laid out the vision of amplifying India’s brand for R&D. The portal to be managed by FIEO will serve to bring synergy between academia solutions and industrial needs. In order to encourage and also acknowledge the R&D Services exporters Prof K VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India also announced the institution of National Awards, along with FIEO, for the sector starting 2021-22. 

For 1st Roundtable flyer