To boost the country’s manufacturing industry, the Chinese government is providing tax breaks to companies for upgrading their equipment and scaling up R&D. The tax breaks are especially aimed at small- and medium-sized enterprises. Tax reductions will be based on the value of new R&D equipment and facilities purchased after January 1 of this year […]

As of September 15, the EU agreed to allow Swiss scientists to apply for some Horizon 2020 funds, despite the country’s vote to bar immigration from Croatia (see IBO 2/28/14). The European Commission granted Switzerland the same status as other EU nations under the Excellent Science pillar of Horizon 2020, which includes grants from the […]

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), which has a budget of approximately $6.8 billion and encompasses 104 research institutes, is undergoing a restructuring. About half of its funds are provided by the government and are used for overhead costs and a portion of salaries, with the remaining funding from competitive government grants. The restructuring is […]

A survey of 48 finance directors (FDs) of higher-education institutions (HEI), representing 37% of the sector, has revealed that 36% of them feel less positive about the financial prospects of their institutions compared with the previous year, whereas 23% are more optimistic. Asked to describe their “general level of external or financial economic uncertainty,” 89% […]

The food-processing sector constitutes up to 10% of the GDP within India’s Agriculture and Manufacturing sector. Agriculture employs about 60% of the population and contributes 14% to the GDP. In fiscal 2012, India produced 127.3 million t of milk, representing 17% of the global market. The country produced 7.0 million t of pulses, 155.7 million […]