File image of Union Minister Jitendra Singh
| Photo Credit: PTI

India will overtake the United States in the number of scientific publications by 2029, Union Minister for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said at a public function on Friday (February 29, 2025) to commemorate National Science Day.

“Future projections say that we will overcome the United States in the number of (scientific) publications in the next four years, by 2029. These are facts that are not known very widely but these are extremely important to us,” said Dr. Singh. He did not cite a specific source but a 2023 ranking by the U.S.-based National Science Foundation of countries’ scientific output says that China, with 898,949 publications leads the world, followed by the U.S. (457,335) and India (207,390).

Dr. Singh also cited a December 31, 2024 compilation of the top 2% of scientists in the world that says that in this list, there were 5,351 Indian scientists. “This is something that would have been unbelievable a few years ago and cynics will not believe, even today. But the figures speak for themselves,” he remarked.

The ‘Top 2% Scientists’, an annual compilation by the U.S.’ Stanford University and scientific publisher, Elsevier, ranks scientists by fields and number of highly-cited publications. India with 5,351 scientists ranks 10^th with the U.S., ranked 1^st, with 71,392 scientists and China 2^nd with 27,165 scientists.

Dr. Singh stated that the budgetary allocations for various departments have seen significant growth over the years. The Department of Science and Technology (DST) received an allocation of ₹2,777 crore in 2013-14, which has surged to ₹28,509 crore in 2024-25, marking a 926% increase. Similarly, the Department of Science and Industrial Research (DSIR) saw its allocation rise from ₹2,013 crore in 2013-14 to ₹6,658 crore in 2024-25, reflecting a 230% increase. The Department of Space (DOS) experienced a growth from ₹5,615 crore in 2013-14 to ₹13,416 crore in 2024-25, resulting in a 139% increase.

National Science Day is celebrated by the government to mark the discovery of the Raman Effect by Sir C.V. Raman, the only resident Indian to have been conferred a Nobel Prize in Physics, in 1930.