Fri Aug 01 13:27:54 UTC 2025: **Summary:**
Nobel laureate David Gross, speaking at Quantum India Bengaluru 2025, urges India to prioritize scientific discovery and invention before focusing on manufacturing to ensure the success of the “Make in India” initiative. He commends Indian scientists while criticizing the country’s low R&D spending as a percentage of GDP, which lags significantly behind other nations. He suggests that state governments, industries, and individual scientists should contribute more to R&D if the central government doesn’t increase its investment.
**News Article:**
**Nobel Laureate Urges India to Prioritize Discovery and Invention for “Make in India” Success**
**Bengaluru, August 1, 2025** – American theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate David Gross emphasized the importance of scientific discovery and invention as crucial steps before manufacturing in India for the “Make in India” initiative to truly succeed. Gross was speaking at the second day of Quantum India Bengaluru 2025.
“To compete with better and cheaper goods from abroad, one has to first have new technology based on science,” Gross stated, advocating for a new slogan: “Discover, then invent, and then make.”
While praising the contributions of Indian scientists and technicians, Gross expressed concern over India’s low spending on research and development (R&D). He noted that despite a doubling of R&D expenditure in the last decade, it remains at only 0.64% of GDP, far below the global average and significantly lagging behind countries like China, the U.S., and Israel.
“We’re lagging behind countries like China by a factor of 4, the U.S. by over a factor of 5, countries like Israel by almost a factor of 10. I don’t understand why this has been happening in the last 10 years.”
Gross called for increased investment in R&D, suggesting that if the Central government is unable to increase spending, state governments like Karnataka, industries, and individual scientists should step up their contributions. He lauded the Karnataka government and its scientists for their engagement in quantum science initiatives, encouraging them to “Discover, invent, and make in Bengaluru.”
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