Le Matinal has been informed that the annual budget of the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council has suffered a drastic 25% cut for the upcoming year 2021/2022. This comes as a blow not only at the MRIC but also to all those who were relying on funds to fuel research to identify projects likely to accelerate growth in emerging sectors and to support the digitalization of the public sector and to provide funding to innovative pilot projects. The MRIC was, so far, funding projects in 14 different sectors both in house and in enterprises in areas ranging from energy security to water resources.
Although it is not sure whether this reduction in funding will negatively impact ongoing projects in the short term, the MRIC may now find itself in a tight spot to commit to proposals submitted recently following a call for proposal in industry 4.0.
The Minister of Information, Communication, Technology and Innovation has formally promised the disbursement of Rs 40 Mn in February this year to improve the resilience of the country to the pandemic, especially through the adoption and the widespread use of technology in key sectors such as agriculture to ensure food security.
The Minister of Finance and Economic Development in his budget speech 2021/2022 said that the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council will have broader mandates for fostering research and innovation. The Budget Annex mentions the setting up of a Public Sector Transformation Scheme by the MRIC without providing details as to the size of the fund.
In 2015, the MRIC benefited from a substantial increase in its annual funding by central government. The National Innovation Programme was a Rs 125 Mn. strong fund that allowed the MRIC to expand its footprint in innovative poles. In 2016, it was chosen by the Ministry of Finance to spearhead the implementation of the Rs. 50 Mn. National SME Incubator Scheme through which 181 projects has been incubated as at January 2021. The MRIC has also been able to tap on international institutional funds to finance innovative projects such as the nano satellite MIR SAT 1, sent into space two weeks ago.
