India now ranks 3rd in global scientific publications: Jitendra Singh

India's scholarly output increased from 60,555 papers in 2010 to 1,49,213 papers in 2020.

New Delhi, Dec 18: India has jumped to the third position in the global ranking in scientific publications, Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said on Sunday after a review of the functioning of the ministry.

"This became possible only because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who not only has a natural predilection for science but is also forthcoming in supporting and promoting science and technology based initiatives and projects in the last 8 years. He said, India's scientific prowess is going to have a major role in the making of "AtmaNirbhar Bharat"," a statement from the government said.

India's research performance in science and technology has improved significantly over the past few years which is visible through large amount of scientific knowledge in terms of research publications, development of technologies and innovations contributing to overall development, he added.

India's scholarly output increased from 60,555 papers in 2010 to 1,49,213 papers in 2020.

He said the number of patents granted to Indian scientists at India Patent Office (IPO) during the last three years has also increased from 2,511 in 2018-19 to 4,003 in 2019-20 and 5,629 in 2020-21. The National Science Foundation is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering.

It may be recalled that according to the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2022 brought out by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), India's GII ranking has also improved significantly from 81st in 2014 to 40th position in 2022. Lauding India's scientific fraternity for its consistent efforts, Singh gave all credit to an enabling milieu and freedom of working provided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In the last budget, DST received Rs 6,002 Crore, which was 42 percent of the total fund of Rs 14,217 Crore allocated to the Ministry of Science and Technology. DSIR received Rs 5,636 Crore (40%), while DBT got Rs 2,581 Crore (18 per cent), a statement from the government said.