India’s struggle to build a prosperous research ecosystem deepen more than R&D low spending. For decades, the country has invested in critical scientific infrastructure and support, creating a gap in which talent and innovation are often sold before they can take root. The result is a helpless cycle: the system generates disappointment between aspirants to researchers, who are forced to choose between passion and basic survival, especially in a society where ROTE learning is still shaking research.

A recent publication on social networks, caused by the critic of the Union Minister, Pyush Goyal, in the Indian startups, has reigned public speech on this subject. In the midst of increasing scrutiny of bureaucratic obstacles and government priorities in the Indian innovation landscape, social media now establishes another painful point, as evil the country supports their research scholars.

A viral publication by Linkedin focused it on, revealing that a doctoral student at a top-notch high school like Iit Delhi, who works in the advanced AI research, earns only $ 35,000 a month.

“ A friend of mine is 33 years old, married and pursues a doctorate in IITD: winning only € 35,000/month.It is brilliant, erasing competitive exams (JEE, Gate, Doctoral Interview) and spends his days doing less well -known university research, with basic skills, he wins twice his stipula and lives much more comfortably, ” he wrote.

The publication raised a hard question: “Why do our system reward mediocrity with money and brightness with naked survival?”

He added: “Doctoral scholars are not just students: they are educators, innovatives and builders of the future. But they forget. Passion should not require poverty. To all researchers who are grinding in silence: your work matters. It is important. It is time for the system to prove it.”

The post made strong reactions on the platforms. One user commented: “The industry is never bothered in your JEE, the door score, publications, etc., but it focuses on whether your skills are sufficient to meet their requirements … We also have several doctoral students who receive the stipulation and at the same time

Another echoed the feeling: “This is true, the grant received by doctoral students is much less. When I graduated, I also left the doctoral idea because of too less stipend compared to what I could win at work.”

A third added: “The Indian government spends much less on R&D and more to Freebies. I know several friends of my M.TECH who joined the doctorate. I wondered if they were serious about their finances? Given inflation and cost, Stipend students stand at M.Tech and PhD levels are not sustainable and often disappointing.”

But not everyone agreed. A user argued: “First, this system is not only restricted to India and is also evident in all other countries. Secondly, the salary of a person in any field depends on the market value and this is dictated by several other factors. I think this is a very crude comparison.”

Another said: “Doctoral scholars do valuable research and, yes, contribute to national development. But they are not employees, they are students and future researchers, which is why they receive a stipend, not a salary.”

There were also voices that raised their concern about the quality of research programs. “ Given that a significant part of doctoral aspirants do not have basic skills to offer quality research, many of the doctoral guides (including reputation institutes) do not have the competence to contribute to value research and more than 80% of institutions have no appropriate infrastructure to supplement quality research, the large amount of money in the name of the doctoral program is also a waste … They join this program as a last resort as a last resort to win a income, the user wrote.