Sri Lanka prepares National R and D Investment plan to avoid middle income trap
With an ambitious aim of avoiding middle income trap, brain drain, a wide income gap between the rich and poor and the balance of payment crisis, the Ministry of Technology and Research has prepared a National Research and Development (R&D) Investment plan to foster scientific innovation and support the Sri Lankan economy and moves into higher value-added production.
Announcing the plan, Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka told a gathering of senior journalists of the Wijeya Newspapers Group in Colombo on Thursday that his ministry will request Rs. 10 billion from the 2015 budget to achieve economic growth targets and tunnel through the middle income trap to touch the GDP per capita income of US$4000 USD in 2016.
He said the IMF’s recent prediction of 6.4 per cent growth in Sri Lanka prompted him to look at GDP as an economic indicator, noting that while economic growth is Sri Lanka’s overriding priority, it should not be at the cost of environment; “not at the cost of lives of our people, not at the cost of our natural resources”. Therefore Sri Lanka’s development strategy should essentially be environmentally sustainable and a people’s oriented one, he added.
The reduction of income inequlity should be a major concern and in the case of Sri Lanka, the income share of the poorest 20 per cent of the population has continued to remain less than five per cent throughout the post-independence period, he revealed.“We are currently engaged in a dialogue with professional organizations and intellectuals in the country to obtain their views and suggestions in formulating an investment framework for R&D,’’ he added. A scholars’ dialogue on this R&D investment plan will be held at the Water’s Edge hotel in Battaramulla tomorrow.
The framework will form the basis for government investments in the R&D sector and it will ensure that the research activities will not only have meaning to the scientific world but also be effective in contributing to development priorities of the country, he said.
The outcome of this initiative will be to integrate R&D strategies into the national development agenda and to secure the resource for implementation of R&D initiatives that will produce results, he added.
Under this initiative, measures will be taken to retain professionals who are leaving the country and to bring them back providing opportunities to serve Sri Lanka, he disclosed. Around 17,000 doctors, 20,000 scientists and other professionals are serving overseas exacerbating a growing crisis in the country’s professional sector, he opined.
“Moreover, we have produced brilliant scientists and other professionals through our free education system, nevertheless we have failed in retaining them and imbibing their talents and skills in the development process of the country,” he said. “We are now committed to finding ways and means on how we could reverse this process of ‘brain drain’ and make it a brain gain,” he said adding that the new national R&D Investment plan will be special purpose vehicle towards this end.
The main objective of this plan is to promote ‘smart’ technology and innovation solutions solely aiming at output growth in 10 technological areas for improving the quality of life of the people and proper resource utilisation.
These 10 sectors are water, food, health, shelter, energy, textile industry, mineral resources, knowledge services, basic sciences and environment. The plan mainly focuses on safe drinking water for all, adequate water for agricultural and of small famers, affordable nutrient rich meals for low income groups environmentally friendly agricultural practices cost effective eco friendly hosing for middle and low income families value addition for garment industry, value addition for mineral exports, tenfold growth of software industry and knowledge services, mechatronics and automation, electronics astronomy and astrology and protect bio diversity and utilize it for the benefit of the country.