How to Build a Scientific India
Aashima Dogra | 01 August 2026 | Frontline
What would a complete overhaul of the science education system look like? The student protests we have witnessed across the country were pleading for constructive steps to get us out of our educational rut. In the case of science, we can answer that question by looking at the small, sporadic, progressive campaigns that have been voiced by the science community.
It is undeniable that in 2026, Indian science is plagued with mediocrity. For one, the global discussion on AI features many Indian names but there is no talk of Indian-AI models. In the scientific world, mediocrity also translates to having many bad research papers and India ranks among the top three countries with the most retracted papers. In 2025, six of the ten universities in the world with the most paper retractions are in India.
Even though industrial applications and science-backed innovation for the country have been policy priorities, they have not yet materialised on the ground. This is despite the fact that India possesses a vast mass of knowledge workers with the potential to achieve innovations of vishwaguru proportions. For the last decade, science students and the wider community of teachers, professors and scientists have had to internally battle systemic monsters that meet them every step of the way.