The upcoming Union budget should focus on increasing spending on research and address the issue of angel tax in the start-up ecosystem, Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan said.
Start-ups have been complaining about tax on investments raised from angel investors. Some of them have received notice from the Income Tax Department.
“I strongly believe that funding for research has to increase. It is 0.8% of the Gross Domestic Product. I think we need to take it to 2-3%,” he said on the sidelines of inaugural session of First Deshpande-Gopalakrishnan Symposium on Innovation and Entrepreneurship being held at IIT-Madras.
Appeal to private sector
He said the private sector needed to contribute to research, which was just 0.2%.
Mr. Gopalakrishnan also said spending should go towards both basic and applied research. Funding organisations should be empowered to have budgetary control. “It is not only about allocation, but also being allowed to spend that money that is important.”
He called for better evaluation of research academia. “The traditional evaluation is based on the number of papers published. It should be expanded to aspects such as contribution towards product creation. This is something the education system should come together and discuss,” Mr. Gopalakrishnan said.
