3T-National R&D Investment Plan of Sri Lanka:

Towards a knowledge economy in Sri Lanka by 2020

The Ministry of Technology, Research and Atomic Energy has prepared a draft of a five-year plan to make Sri Lanka a ‘knowledge economy’ by 2020.

The plan has identified ten main technological fields such as water, food, health, shelter, energy, textile industry, mineral resources, knowledge services, basic services and environment.

A discussion on this draft will be held tomorrow, July 7 at 8.30 a.m. at the waters Edge, Battaramulla, under the patronage of Technology, Research and Atomic Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka. The investment in Research and Development (R&D) is critically important for socioeconomic development of Sri Lanka in the current context of knowledge-driven global economic setup. The total expenditure for R & D remains low at less then 0.2 percent of GDP in Sri Lanka. In comparison, the ratio is nearly 4 percent of GDP in South Korea, and over 2 percent in Singapore. High priority needs to be given by both the government and the business sector to raise R&D investment in Sri Lanka from its present low levels. In order to accelerate the process, policy emphasis has been drawn to directly move to the innovation-driven phase, without going through the full phase of the efficiency-driven track. Having recognised the strategic significance of R&D in Sri Lanka's socioeconomic development, the Ministry of Technology and Research

has formulated a 5-year R&D Investment Plan for Sri Lanka.

The main objective of this R&D investment plan is to promote ‘smart’ technology and innovation solutions (as against ‘cheap’ solutions solely aiming at output growth) in Ten Thrust Technological (3T) areas for improving the quality of life of the people while ensuring economic, social and environmental sustainability for future generations.

Economic, Social and Environmental Sustainability (ESES)

In the 1980s, labour was the major source of economic growth and thus, the economy was in the ‘factor-driven phase’ with growth contributions largely originated from low-skilled and low-cost labour and natural resource endowments. Technology and innovation are instrumental in venturing into high-tech and high-value added products and thereby to reach the next stage of growth-the ‘innovation-driven’ phase leading towards knowledge economy.’

In applying technology and innovation for high economic growth, precautions must be taken to deal with the resulting adverse social repercussions. In this regard, reduction of income inequality should be a major concern. In the case of Sri Lanka, the income share of the poorest 20 percent of the population has continued to remain less than 5 percent throughout the post-independence period, despite the continuous economic growth.

The poor households encounter a variety of problems including malnutrition, ill-health, poor housing conditions, and lack of access to basic amenities including safe-drinking water, education, transport and electricity. These social problems need to be addressed by devising technology and innovation to enable the vulnerable poor to generate income, and thereby to materialize equitable growth.

Large proportions of the costs incurred in achieving economic growth through technology and innovation are usually passed on to the future generations by exerting unprecedented pressures on environment and natural resources. Sri Lanka should not blindly emulate fast growing countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, but lessons should be learnt from them to conserve and construct new eco-systems. A holistic approach should be adopted to achieve economic growth via ‘green growth'.

Ten Thrust Technological Areas (3T)

While formulating the R&D investment plan for Sri Lanka the Ministry of Technology and Research has drawn its attention towards two main factors ‘public wellbeing’ and ‘Resource Utilization'. Accordingly Ten Thrust Technological areas were recognised for the R&D investment plan.

Public well-being

1. Water Safe drinking water for all; Adequate water for agricultural lands of small farmers

2. Food

Affordable nutrient rich meals available for all low income groups; Environmentally friendly agricultural practices; Minimizing post-harvest losses; Dairy and Fisheries Industries

3. Health

Establishing Local and Export markets for Ayurveda and Sinhala medicine; Locally manufacture quality western medicine drugs available at an affordable price; Reliable and affordable healthcare for all

4. Shelter

Cost effective, eco-friendly housing for middle and low income families through low cost sustainable building materials, energy efficient architectural designs and novel construction methods Resource utilization

5. Energy

Solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, wave and OTEC Technologies, Storage systems & Clean convenient affordable domestic cooking fuels and Energy Conservation by Town and Country Planning, Industrial Energy Conservation & Sustainable life styles

6. Textile

industry Value addition for garment industry; Textile yarn manufacture – Bamboo & other fibre

7. Mineral

Resources Value addition to graphite, thorium, Montmorillonite, calcium carbonate, Li, Na and ion intercalation

8. Knowledge

services Ten-fold growth of software industry & knowledge services

9. Basic

Sciences Mechatronics and Automation, Electrical and electronic System, Space Technology, Knowledge Electronics, Astronomy and Astrology Public wellbeing and Resource Utilization

10. Environment

Bio Diversity protected and utilized for the benefit of the country; Safe & pleasant environment for all communities; Disaster preparedness for vulnerable groups

Interventions

Interventions to be made under this 3T-R&D Investment Plan are Policy Studies, Research, Innovation, Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Indigenous knowledge, Science Infrastructure (Intellectual Property Rights, Standardization, Testing and Accreditation), Capacity Building, Information & Communication Technologies and Marketing & Popularization thus forming a 10x10 Matrix.