Education Minister Pun calls for at least 1% GDP investment in innovation

September 25, Kathmandu: Newly appointed Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Mahabir Pun,  has expressed the need to allocate at least 1% of the nation’s budget to research and innovation.

In a recent interview, the Minister said Nepal’s current Research and Development (R&D) spending, below 0.1% of GDP, lagged far behind global leaders like Israel, which invests over 5% of its GDP in R&D, and other developed countries like the United States and Germany, averaging around 2.5–3%, fueling their technological and economic advancements.

He stated that for education to be free, the country must have a prosperous and stable economy, adding that in today’s day and age, such an economy can be achieved through incentivizing and investing in innovation and entrepreneurship.

The Minister said that Nepal could start by investing at least 1% of its GDP in research and innovation and gradually increase it to 2% and 3%.