The talk on science, technology and innovation policies (STIP) for development will be a critical reflection on exploring some key trends in a socio-historical perspective. Four different phases and trends, which are not exclusive but envelop with each other, are traced between 1947 and the contemporary period. Science and technology (S&T) policy in the formative years left a distinct Nehruvian imprint in the post-colonial and post-independent India. With a huge population, India is not dependent on food on outside countries since the 1960s. Green and White Revolutions have made immense contribution to develop scientific and technical capacities in agriculture security and related fields of research. India’s innovation system, including higher education, has given her some comparative advantage through ‘human capital’ in information technology, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, space research and so on.

However, in export promotion and economic competitiveness in technology-based industries, we lag behind East Asian ‘Dragons’. India’s informal sector coupled with 650 plus industrial clusters poses a formidable challenge in skills and technological up gradation with more than 95% of India’s labour force. When we begin to assess our national innovation system, one feature that stands out to research observers is few islands of excellence, some promising S&T landscapes but vast ‘hinterlands’ of underdeveloped research arenas. Despite successive higher educational policies, India is yet to achieve what is known as the ‘Humboltdian goal’. There is clearly a gap between theory and practice of science policy in India. Our gross expenditure on research and development as a proportion of gross domestic product remained relatively stagnant in the last couple of decades and, in fact, receded from 0.8% in the 1990s to 0.7% in 2020. At 75, when a country introspects and looks back, it certainly needs some benchmarks, perspectives and strategies. Some attention will be given to these STIP issues confronting us.