On the advice of Prime Minster Narendra Modi, the issue regarding GST on research grants to universities has been sorted out. The Finance Ministry has decided to exempt GST on universities created by Central or State legislatures, and other universities exempted under Section 35 of the Income Tax Act. For the academia, this is a perfect gift on the eve of the first Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) meeting under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister.

Also, the Prime Minister’s efforts to leapfrog India’s progress in high-tech and emerging technologies continues with the Semicon 2024 and Global Bio-India 2024 events — a cause for further cheer for Indian academia.

Path-breaking reforms

The first governing body meeting of ANRF on September 10 saw the launch of path-breaking reforms, announcing the ushering in of world-class research at India’s universities, colleges, research institutions and R&D laboratories for achieving global capabilities and competitiveness. The Partnerships for Accelerated Innovation and Research (PAIR) aim at building coherent synergy between top, middle and low rung institutions to create a ripple effect across the higher-end research ecosystem.

The Mission for Advancement in High-impact Areas (MAHA) has rightly identified electric vehicles, mobility and advanced materials for the initial priority-driven research, with more such areas in the pipeline.

The ANRF Centre of Excellence (ACE) was also announced to create a world-class research centre with cutting-edge infrastructure and funding to support globally competitive research. Interdisciplinary and fundamental research completes the comprehensive vision of ANRF in its first meeting, which also assured an ease of doing research mechanism to increase research output.

A tellingly visible manifestation of ANRF’s vision could be seen during the Prime Minister’s inaugural address at the Semicon 2024 event.

The Prime Minister spoke on behalf of not only the government but also the semiconductor industry with a deep sense of positivism, assuring the world of India’s march towards global semiconductor manufacturing excellence. To scale the workforce at all levels — R&D, engineers and technicians — the Prime Minister has committed ₹1 lakh crore funding under ANRF to enhance research capabilities, clearly aligning with ANRF’s MAHA momentum for semiconductors.

As the Prime Minister shared India’s ambition to reach $500 billion in electronics sector business and create six million jobs by the end of the decade, the ANRF + Semicon combo is a game changing tech-formula.

Moving beyond chips to biotech, the Prime Minister’s participation in the Global Bio-India 2024 summit is another research signal.

The BioE3 (Biotechnology for Economy, Environment and Employment) policy that was recently announced is India’s transformational leap, to position itself as a global biotech powerhouse.

The policy aims to promote economic, environmental and employment enrichment with a focus on underserved geographies with a focus on bio-manufacturing. The policy will build a conducive environment that would foster innovation, support R&D and build India’s strength in the global biotechnology market; India’s biotechnology market is poised to touch $300 billion by 2030. Global Bio-India will deliberate on the opportunities and key challenges in the areas of bio-manufacturing, for achieving a growth-oriented roadmap for the biotechnology sector.

Beginning with the GST exemption on research grants and continuing with ANRF, Semicon and Global Bio-India, the research runway signals are clear for a smooth take-off with no mid-air turbulence and for a smoother landing for India to reach its new research destination.

The writer is Vice-Chancellor & Tata Sons Chair Professor of Management, SASTRA University. Views are personal

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