The public sector in countries like India should build more capacity in research and development as this would help to evolve effective public policies, Charles Edquist of Lund University, Sweden, said on Saturday.
Prof. Edquist was speaking on ‘Innovation systems for a knowledge economy in India’ on the final day of the 20th international conference of the Global Network of Economics of Learning, Innovation and Competence-building Systems (Globelics) at the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation (GIFT).
Developed countries like Sweden invests roughly 18% of its GDP for Science, Innovation and Technology (SIT). Even countries like Peru spends 8% on SIT. It is unfortunate to note that India earmarks an insignificant portion of its GDP in these areas, he said.
Prof. Edquist said the role of the private sector in R&D should be redesigned. As the private sector is focused mainly on making more revenue out of R&D, they fail to address the pressing needs of the people in various countries, he said.
Ninety-five per cent of the patents across the world are owned by top global companies like Microsoft, Google, Apple and Tesla, Sushil Khanna, Professor, IIM-Kolkata, said. Almost 90% of the income from intellectual properties and patents goes to rich, developed nations. This monopoly and huge divide in the knowledge and technology segment is a real threat to the developing and under developed countries, Prof. Khanna said.
Dinesh Kumar Abrol, Professor, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development (ISID), drew attention to the threat posed by brain drain. For India, it is a serious issue, he said.
Speaking on ‘Role of Knowledge in addressing the Core Development issues in the South,’ Rainer Walz, Professor, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, Germany, said accrual of knowledge for each country and policy guidance are the main challenges faced by the developing countries in the Global South. Low income from adverse specialisation is a serious threat in the labour sector of developing countries, Prof. K.N. Harilal of Centre For Development Studies (CDS), noted.
The 20th Globelics international conference, which ended on Saturday, was opened by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on October 11. The 2023 edition, which saw participation by scholars from over 50 countries, had the theme ‘Innovation-driven knowledge economies and transformation in the Global South.’
