According to a senior University Grants Commission (UGC) official, research work in basic sciences is declining which may cause a decline in required talent pool that could indirectly affect India's dominance in Information Technology (IT). Vice-Chairperson Mool Chand Sharma was quoted recently bemoaning the failure of the system to promote social science research which could adopt technology for broader use by people. To overcome this gap, the UGC is offering 1000 scholarships for fundamental research but said it was difficult to attract young talent since the IT sector was offering better monetary incentives and faster career growth.

Echoing Sharma's concern for lack of reach of technology to the population at large, the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) led by technologist Sam Pitroda has recommended that the government establish an Independent Regulatory Authority for Higher Education (IRAHE) that is outside the ambit of the Human Resources Development ministry. Pitroda wrote Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the present "regulatory system is flawed" and that "the barriers to entry are too high" from "multiplicity of regulatory agencies" with "confusing and overlapping" mandates. The NKC also made the starling observation that the present regulatory system is "over-regulated but under-governed" and asked for the proposed IRAHE to be "independent of all stakeholders, including concerned ministries of the Government."

The thrust of both points of reference is the need to depoliticize academics where universities are run by educationalists and not politicians or their cronies. They also talk about the need for creation of a research base that is based on peer evaluation and not political convenience.