India at No. 9 spot in S&T map: Prithviraj Chavan

India has now climbed to No. 9 spot in the world’s Science and Technology map this year with its output of S&T systems growing at a significant 12 per cent as against the global average of just four per cent.

“We have overtaken Spain this year to stand at No. 9, one rank up from last year,” Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan has said. India was ranked 15th in S&T systems output in the year 2002.

Addressing a press conference during his visit to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology here on Tuesday, the Union Minister outlined the various initiatives taken by the Government of India to make India a “global major science power.”

“Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is committed to science in a big way. So, he has announced that the decade from 2010 to 2020 will be the Decade of Innovation. We are looking at science to create wealth and employment for the country,” Chavan, who is also a Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, said.

He said the Centre was currently spending one per cent of Gross Domestic Product on research and development, and added “We are committed to grow this (spending) to two per cent of GDP in five to six years, both public and private sectors together