The government is set to allocate funds next year to find means to help ordinary people, especially low-income earners, make more money.
Prime Minister's Office Minister Kobsak Phutrakul said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has tasked the government with providing funds to universities and researchers to find ways to boost the standard of living for ordinary Thais and low-income earners.
The newly appointed minister has been charged with overseeing the National Research Council of Thailand, the Office of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Promotion, the Board of Investment, the National Economic and Social Development Board, the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology and the Government Public Relations Department.
Mr Kobsak said he already ordered the National Research Council of Thailand to screen out existing research projects that can help raise people's income in the short term.
"We're in the process of consulting related ministries to provide funds to each research project in fiscal 2018," he said. "There will be more than enough funds to support R&D and help low-income earners."
Mr Kobsak said blue swimmer crab farming, pillows made from natural rubber and sericulture are areas where greater R&D should be conducted to help raise income for farmers.
According to the Digital Economy and Society (DE) Ministry, next year will be the first time Thailand's overall spending on R&D and innovation reaches 1% of GDP.
The 1% level will be the result of a series of stimulus packages from the government and the private sector's awareness that the new economy necessitates innovation-driven development.
For two decades, expenditure on R&D and innovation never exceeded 0.25% of GDP, while spending has gradually increased over the past five years, the DE Ministry said.
The incumbent government is committed under the 20-year strategic plan to raising R&D expenditure to 2% of the country's GDP in 2036. R&D spending in 2015 accounted for only 0.62% of GDP. The estimate for 2016 is 0.75% and is forecast to reach 0.8% in 2017.
The plan calls for the private sector to provide 80% of R&D spending by 2036. The private sector currently accounts for 70% of R&D spending.
The government has allocated 17 billion baht to that end for fiscal 2018, up 15% from 2017.
To promote R&D spending in the private sector, the cabinet in May approved tax incentives for companies that group together in clusters to invest in R&D in five specified areas.
They will be eligible to claim 300% deductions for R&D expenses, up from 200%, if they invest more in food, agriculture and biotechnology; public health, healthcare and biomedical technology; robotics and smart devices; digital, Internet of Things and artificial intelligence; and creative economy, culture and lifestyle.
