19/06/2025
This is an important and nuanced question, " why indian people are not much interested in Medical Research", rather the issue is more about systemic barriers, infrastructure gaps, and prioritization challenges that have historically limited India’s contribution to global cutting-edge medical research relative to its potential.
Here’s a breakdown of the key reasons:
1. Low Funding for Research
• GDP Allocation: India spends only around 0.7% of its GDP on R&D, compared to ~2–3% in countries like the US, China, or South Korea.
• Medical Research Gets Less: Within that, medical research receives only a small slice. Most funding goes to defense or space.
🏥 2. Clinical Burden > Research Focus
• Doctors in India are overburdened with clinical work due to the high doctor-patient ratio. For example:
• Government hospitals are overcrowded.
• Private hospitals prioritize service delivery and profits.
• This leaves little time or incentive for research activities.
🎓 3. Academic & Institutional Weakness
• Many Indian medical colleges lack a research culture.
• MBBS and MD/DM programs focus heavily on rote learning and exams, not critical thinking or scientific inquiry.
• Faculty promotions have historically not been based on the quality of published research.
🧠 4. Brain Drain
• Many of India’s brightest minds go abroad (especially to the US, UK, or Europe) for PhDs, postdocs, and medical training — and stay there.
• India produces talent, but often doesn’t retain it.
💰 5. Lack of Industry-Academia Collaboration
• In countries like the US, pharmaceutical and biotech companies collaborate extensively with universities and hospitals.
• In India, such partnerships are rare and often limited to clinical trials, not innovation.
⚖️ 6. Regulatory and Bureaucratic Hurdles
• Approval for trials, ethics clearance, and research grants is slow and often unpredictable.
• Clinical trials have faced controversy and public mistrust, leading to restrictive policies post-2013.
🌍 7. Global Inequity in Recognition
• Research done in India often gets less visibility in top journals.
• Language, funding, and publishing barriers make it harder to participate in high-impact global discourse.
But — It’s Not All Negative:
India has made progress in some areas:
• ICMR, AIIMS, CSIR, and DBT fund important research.
• COVID-19 accelerated domestic research capabilities (vaccines, epidemiology, etc.).
• Institutes like NIMHANS, Tata Memorial, and CCMB do publish high-quality research.
• Startups in biotech (like Bharat Biotech or Serum Institute) are growing.
🔑 So, Why the Perception?
It’s a combination of:
• Structural challenges
• Underfunding
• Lack of prioritization
• Low visibility of existing work
But there is interest in medical research in India. What’s missing is a national strategy to support, scale, and retain it.
NATIONAL STRATEGY :-
🧱 1. Boost Investment in Medical R&D
National Level:
• Increase public health R&D spending from