ISLAMABAD: A Senate committee on Wednesday discussed the lack of funds for scientific research and said that this year`s budget for research was less than what a kilometre of the metro bust track cost.

The committee was responding to remarks from the Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Rana Tanveer Hussein, who said that scientific research and development was not a priority for the incumbent government.

`The government is reluctant to fund research in the country,` Mr Tanveer said.

The Senate Standing Committee on Science and Technology met to discuss the functions and contributions of some of the departments under the ministry.

`We asked for ten times more money for breathing life into and promoting the culture of science and technology.

However, the government believed that the science and technology ministry cannot deliver and was reluctant to increase funds for research and development,` the minister said.

Rana Tanveer Hussein told the committee that his ministry`s annual budget for research and development was a meagre 0.29pc of the GDP.

`Pakistan ranks at 87th in the world, one of the lowest, in terms of spending on research and development,` he said.

The committee was told that the amount of funds released for this purpose had gone down after 2007-08 and so did research and development activities.

Members were told that though scientists have worked hard, the results of planned projects were not visible and that a lack of support from the government to the ministry led to most experts switching to more rewarding jobs and better opportunities abroad.

According to an of ficial from the ministry, development projects have suffered in all the 16 departments under the science and technology ministry including the Pakistan Council for Research in Water Resources, Pakistan Council for Renewable Energy Technologies and the Pakistan Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

`Nonetheless, we have been able to increase the budget for some departments, such as the budget for the Pakistan Science Foundation has increased from Rs37 million to Rs117 million. Please help the science and technology ministry get more money,` the minister pleaded.

The chairman of the committee, PPP Senator Osman Saifullah Khan said that it was disappointing to know that the budget of a kilometre of the metro bus track costs more than the entire budget of the science and technology ministry and that other countries are making research based advancements to help their economies grow.

The committee assured the minister that it will help his ministry overcome its financial challenges.