As a result of quantitative growth of universities since Independence, today India has three hundred and fifteen universities engaged in teaching and research. However, the universities are differentiated in terms of universities funded by (a) the central government via the University Grants Commission (UGC); (b) the state governments and (c) the Ministry of Human Resource Development of the Government of India like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). The differentiation also reflects a kind of stratification in terms of prestige and reputation. The university system in India is responsible for teaching at undergraduate, post-graduate courses and research. It is because of the contributions of the university system that today India has one of the largest stocks of human resources in several branches of learning including science and technology. And, today CSIR has 45 national laboratories/institutions and 13 science departments across the country like the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. Most of the universities remained isolated from the industry. Only a few universities, institutions of technology and national R&D laboratories of CSIR have been able to forge links with the industry over the last sixty years. Figure I and Table I provide the rapid expansion of the science base through various agencies – public and private.

Figure No. 1

Central Government Research and Development Expenditure by Selected Scientific Agencies