This document discusses ways to encourage research and innovation in India by addressing current problems and proposing solutions. The major problems identified are lack of funding, public-private partnerships, political will, student interest in research, and lack of resources and motivation. The document proposes introducing innovation clubs in middle and high schools to nurture creativity, encourage problem-solving, and make research appealing to students. It also suggests forming research groups for university students to work on projects with private sector support. Overall, the document advocates for increasing public-private partnerships in research, providing resources and incentives to students, and developing a national curriculum to promote innovation from an early age.

1. Manthan Topic: Brain Gain
Encouraging research and innovation in
India

2. Major problems in the sector :
 Lack of funding by the private sector.
 Lack of public private partnership.
 Lack of political will to identify research and development as a core
issue in India’s overall growth.
 Feigning interest of students in research and development on all levels of
education.
 Lack of motivation for students to pursue creative and innovative ideas
in any field because of absence of such notions in the educational
framework.
 Lack of proper resource allocation, logistics.
Focus Areas Middle School High School
Basic Objectives
 Nurturing creativity
 Encouraging
innovative thinking.
 Developing in them,
an interest in
analyzing issues
related to the real
world.
 Channelizing their logical
reasoning so that they can
indulge in independent
research project.
 Introducing them to the
problem solving
strategies.
 Isolation of real problems
from their tangential and
subsidiary effects.

3. How we can achieve it ?
At Middle School Level
 The concept of innovation clubs must be incorporated, into the
educational framework, constituted by educational boards.
 A given number of compulsory hours must be allocated for their
sessions , meetings or events on a weekly basis, preferably within school
hours.
 Teachers and senior student must take organizational responsibility.
Special workshops should be organized for teachers and students
involves in the organization in order to train them to pursue the events
prescribed programs in the national curriculum framework.
 Video and text packages must be prepared under a national integrated
programme by the education board.
 Teachers must be given the freedom to make the minor changes
according to feasibility of programme suggested by the board. These
packages must include inspirational excerpts from the great minds of
recent times.
 Introducing them to the work of the experts in solving the contemporary
issues, by providing them colorful and pictorial hand outs included in the
textual packages, which will inspire them to pursue these works further.
 Analyzing on the problem that we may have to face in the near future,
through graphical representation and chronological comparative study .
 Encouraging them to take interest in certain topics that are relevant to the
real world so that they pursue those issues and wish to know more about
them through their curriculum.

4.  Encouraging critical thinking, by making a conducive environment
where a student feels comfortable in questioning the conservative ideas
even in the well established fields. This will also inculcate in them a
habit to acknowledge different view points.
 This will be achieved through class room debates and discussions where
students present their analysis on prespecified topics in an organized
manner, this will also make them acquainted with formal research
methodology.
* A model national curriculum frame work for a few
subjects which includes indicative material is provided in
the annexure 1.
At High School Level
 Small problem solving groups should be formed at schools which should
work on specific issues.
 They should be given some access to real experiences, through labs,
tours, symposiums on a monthly basis.
 Small scholarships and grants (for example in the form of fee remittence)
should be given by the parent institutions strictly based on the
performance in these problem solving groups.
 Providing them with a proper platform, to present their findings.
 The curriculum must be sufficiently flexible so that teachers may easily
include the analysis of recent issues.
 Continuous and comprehensive evaluation of the projects performed in
the problem solving groups will be done through periodic objective
exams.
 Encouraging students to participate in various national and international

5. competition of high repute which test logical thinking and non bookish
knowledge.
Special Provisions for students of rural areas-
 This will be a volunteer driven program and hence
cost will be very low.
 Volunteers will be drawn from various government
organizations and also private institutions. Retired
executives and undergraduate students will be ideal
for our purposes.
 Certain number of permanent hired employees will
be required. The funding for the same will be done
through public private partnership.
 Apart from implementing the national curriculum
frame work , they will also impart skills training on
holidays and weekends.
 Region wise skill mapping and training of volunteers,
facilitated by a central management team and backed
by a technological and organizational enablers.
 Curriculum design placement support and credit
support are also integral part of the model.
 This model is advantageous since it utilizes the skills
freely available in the society as opposed to formal
institutional setups and training institutes, which
have outdated curricula and no linkages with private
sector and hence they face staff shortages.
 Large private institutions which avail numerous
special privileges from the government must provide
financial and infrastructural support to run these
programs in the neighboring areas.
 Under graduate volunteers must be given credits in
their academic assessment for their services.

6. University Level Education
 Basic Objectives :
 Collaboration between universities, research institutes and the private
sector to invest in research and innovation by engaging undergraduate
students.
 Engaging them in large scale research and innovation projects under
qualified experts.
 Providing them proper resources infrastructure and logistics to conduct
an healthy,organized and novel research work.
 Inculcating in them proper work ethics and inspiring them to work for
public good so that they can contribute to the overall growth of the
country.
How to achieve it?
 Universities and research institutes must invite public and private firms to
select research projects (of their concerned sectors) prepared by 1st year
undergraduate students by the end of their academic sessions.
 During this selection procedure students involved in research and innovation
must present detailed and organized research proposals for the perusal of
expert panels constituted by various public and private institutions.
 During this selection procedure students involved in research and innovation
must present detailed and organized research proposals for the perusal of
expert panels constituted by various public and private institutions.

7.  After selection of desirable candidates or research groups, these institutions
must invest in providing resources, infrastructure,logistics and expert
support.
 Continuation of this support will solely depend upon the evaluation of the
success achieved by these research groups based on parameters defined by
the parent public or private firms in collaboration with an expert panel
consisting of members from apex research institutions of the country.
 In this way we are providing strong incentives for public private partnership
in the sector of research and innovation by channelizing the creativity and
innovation of young students into solving contemporary issues. This is a long
term investment for these firms which will reap exponential growth and in
some cases may even open entirely new avenues in various sectors providing
them with an opportunities to establish a monopoly in that sector and also
simultaneously contributing towards public welfare.

8. Annexure 1
National Integrated Curriculum Framework.
(An exemplary example)
* For Physical Sciences at
Middle School Level
1- Video Packages- Video simulations of famous experiments
which led to path breaking discoveries.
Ex Cathode Ray experiments
Photoelectric Effect
Faradays experiment on Electromagnetic Induction
2- Auto biographies and documentaries on the lives and work of
famous personalities.

9. Ex Michael Faraday
Issac newton
J. Clark Maxwell
3- Text packages- Pictorial handouts
Newton’s Laws
Electromagnetism
Sound waves
Interesting Conundrums,paradoxes and thought
provoking questions related to the above topics.
*Assignments
1- Multiple type question on the studied hand outs
2- Files or presentations related to appreciation and analysis of the
experiments studied
Their impact on the world of science has to be essentially
researched and explored.
3-Critical analysis through debates and discussions in classrooms
should be appreciated
High School level-
The pattern of packages will remain the same.
Simulations => Electron Diffractions Experiments
=> Millikan Oil drop Experiment

10. => Michelson Morley Experiment
Autobiographies and documentaries
=> Albert einstein
=> Richard P. Feynman
Handouts-
=> Relativity
=> Quantum Mechanics
* Assignments
=> MCQ’s and handouts
=> Small research projects on topics like
Schrodinger wave equation.
Heisenberg uncertainty principle
General Relativity and Warpation Of spacetime.
=> Study of Paradoxes and conundrums like
1- Grandfather Paradox (Relativity)
2- Quantum Entanglement.

11. ANNEXURE 2

12. A MODEL FOR INVESTMENT AND FOCUS ON
DEVELOPING THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY