For ‘Make in India’ to become a success, India should “first discover, then invent, and then make,” said David Gross, American theoretical physicist and co-recipient of 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Delivering the keynote address at the second day of Quantum India Bengaluru 2025, he said, “To compete with better and cheaper goods from abroad, one has to first have new technology based on science.”

Recollecting the ‘Make in India’ slogan that he came across nine years ago while attending the Indian Science Congress in Mysuru he said, “You have to invent in India, but you can’t just invent by relying on science done elsewhere. So, I think the correct slogan is discover, then invent, and then make.”

‘Not happy with govt. spending in R&D’

Mr. Gross, who helped establish the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences in Bengaluru, expressed hope in the country’s future and acknowledged the contributions of Indian scientists and technicians to scientific and technological developments.

However, he expressed dissatisfaction with the government spending in research and development (R&D).

“India’s growth expenditure and R&D has more than doubled since that last 10 years. But as a percentage of the GDP, which has increased much more rapidly, gross spending on R&D remains at an incredibly low level of 0.64%,” he said, pointing out that it is significantly lower than the global average.

“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. There are many reforms that have been initiated but many have not. But this is the overriding number in my opinion,” he criticised.

Industries and scientists can do a lot

If the Central government was unwilling to increase the R&D spending, Mr. Gross suggested that State governments like Karnataka, and industries and individual scientists must step up.

Commenting that it was impressive of the Karnataka government and the scientists of the State to engage in quantum science initiatives he said, “Discover, invent, and make in Bengaluru.”