India’s STEM Future:
A national debate has emerged after concerns were raised about the government’s proposal to restrict PhD research topics to “emerging national priorities,” highlighting deeper structural issues in India’s STEM ecosystem. India produces 25–30 lakh STEM graduates annually, ranking second globally after China (AISHE 2021-22).While women comprise 43% of STEM graduates (one of the highest globally), they hold only 14% of research positions due to societal and structural barriers.India has just ~260 researchers per million people, significantly lower than China (~1,500), the USA (~4,500), and South Korea (~8,000).The workforce is heavily skewed toward IT services and software engineering, with a severe shortage of talent in core research areas like biotechnology, material sciences, and physics.
