Direction for [ Question No: 53 To 57 ] :
Read the passage given below, and answer the questions based on your understanding of the passage.
With the realization across the world that the global economy is going to be increasingly knowledge-based, science and technology have become the subject of discussion not just in classical ministries but also in ministries as diverse as commerce, industry and finance, and in case of United States, even in the State Department. In India, the Prime Minister has made frequent statements about the need to step up scientific research in the country. Several large companies, including multinationals are outsourcing R & D programmes to India. This is partly because scientists are cheaper in India dollar for dollar, but also because India has a large pool of trained scientists. Industry data shows that R & D is now the third-largest segment in India's export of Information Technology (IT) services. Foreign companies have invested over $ 1 billion in research operations in India from 1998 to 2003 and another estimated $ 5 billion are in the pipeline. The United States is the biggest investor followed by Germany, France, Denmark and UK. Japan and China have also begun to invest in research programmes in India. Most foreign investment is being directed to research in computer sciences, pharmaceuticals, molecular chemistry, drug discovery, engineering and automotive design and biotechnology, including plant breeding. Whereas, flow of foreign investments has enthused research institutions that are targeted for collaboration, there is also cause for concern. Although, India now attracts considerable foreign investment in R & D, it has no system in place for assessing how this investment is affecting the country's technological development. Nor is there any mechanism to monitor the impact of such investment on aspects such as skill development, sectoral capacity building etc. Do such foreign - funded research programmes benefit only the scientists and technicians in the form of better salaries and perks or do they also produce benefits for the country as a whole ?
