Uzair Bin Farid

Pakistan needs to allocate more funds in its annual budget for research and development to decrease reliance on imported technology, WealthPK reports.

The increase in allocation of funds for research and development will also help Pakistan to achieve the 17 sustainable development goals set by the United Nations besides decreasing the cost of production of different industrial items in the country.

The World Bank’s World Development Indicators (WDI) show that global spending on research and development has registered a sharp increase. The spending on research and development reached 2.63 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020.

However, the level of spending is not equal for all countries. Almost 80 percent of the total amount is spent on research and development by only 10 countries.

According to the WDI database, Pakistan has never been able to spend even one percent of its GDP on research and development. On average, Pakistan’s spending on research and development remained around 0.26 percent of its GDP from 1996 to 2021. China’s average annual spending for the same time period accounted for 1.54 percent of its GDP, almost six times of Pakistan’s. India utilised funds worth 74 percent of its GDP for the purpose.

On a global level, the United States, Israel and Japan spend 2.73 percent, 4.13 percent and 3.11 percent of their GDP, respectively, on research and development.

For Pakistan, the meagre spending on research and development in this era of information and cutting-edge scientific progress results in a lack of competitive spirit. Pakistan can make progress if it develops the ability to innovate and produce goods. Pakistan needs to allocate more funds in its annual budget for research and development of new technologies and sustainable modes of production.

Increasing the spending on research and development will help Pakistan to achieve 17 sustainable development goals set by the UN and decrease reliance on imported technology. It will also help the country to reduce the production cost of different industrial items.

The promotion of research will enable Pakistan to take a strategic technological jump, which is so essential for its long-term growth and sustainable development.

Pakistan can learn from China’s successful experience. China has been spending heavily on research and development. Many of its resources go into developing future technologies and next-generation manufacturing capital.

The capital investment going into China’s publicly listed biotech innovation firms was a staggering $180 billion in 2021, according to a report by McKinsey & Company. The allocation of huge funds for research and development gives China a competitive edge to stay ahead of the world in production, technology, and export.

Pakistan also needs to ramp up its investments in research and development so that it can move away from the dependent growth paradigm to a more self-sufficient growth pattern.

The future of the world is all about automation, circular economy, green finance, space mining, sustainability and global networks. Pakistan’s integration into the global economy will not be possible without adding value to its production base. Value-addition will help Pakistan to become competitive and increase its share in the export of goods and services to the world market, according to the information gathered by WealthPK.

Independent News Pakistan-Wealthpk