London, Jan 17: Britain is in danger of losing its “special relationship” with India in the field of science because of its lackadaisical attitude, as a result of which US and other European countries are now coming forward to tap India’s scientific potential.

According to a report by Demos – a UK based independent think-tank – US and other European countries are increasingly supplanting Britain as Indian scientists’ international partners of choice because they take a more proactive approach to funding joint research.

Britain, the report said, was still to realize the pace with which India was evolving in the field of science and technology.

“Britain is sleepwalking out of its special relationship with India because not enough people have woken up to how fast the country is changing,” said Charles Leadbeater, one of the authors of the report.

“Britain is being displaced by US and other European countries with more aggressive collaboration programs. Many Indian policymakers believe that the UK is in danger of complacency, with most young Indians now choosing the US and Silicon Valley over the UK,” The Times quoted him as saying.

As such, the British government should now set up a 100 million pound fund for international collaborations for British scientists, and establish a “Darwin scholarships” scheme to bring 200 Asian scientists, specially Indians, to Britain each year, the report said.

“British science will fall behind rivals in Europe and North America who engage more effectively with the emerging research giants of Asia,” the report added.

The authors nevertheless appreciated the 25 million pound fund initiative to support collaborations between Indian and British researchers.

Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, and Alistair Darling, the Trade and Industry Secretary, are due to visit India this week, the paper said.

“This must be only the first step if Britain is not to be left behind. Britain has a choice. Either we become a marginal science and innovation player in world terms, just as we have in the car industry, or we can take our lead from the City of London and become a global hub for cosmopolitan innovation. That means choosing our areas of specialisation, collaborating with others and placing ourselves at the center of knowledge and innovation networks,” Leadbeater said.

James Wilsdon, co-author of the report, said: “Innovation is not a zero-sum game. More in Asia doesn’t mean less in Europe. But we need a more distinctive story about Britain’s strengths. The US is the home of high-tech and Hollywood. What’s our one-line pitch to the world? We think Britain should promote itself as a cosmopolitan center: open and willing to support the best ideas and the most innovative talent from across the world”. (ANI)