New Delhi, Sep 29 (IANS) India has leapfrogged generations in telecom since the past decade but more investment is required to achieve milestones in the field of emerging technologies, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said Thursday.

"In the field of emerging technologies we spend next to nothing compared to other parts of the world," Sibal told a seminar organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.

"China spends 1.3 percent of its gross domestic product in research (GDP) and has plans to increase it to three percent like the EU countries. This means within the next 15 years China will spend almost $230 billion per year in new technologies," Sibal said.

"And in India we have been allocated only Rs.1,000 crore (Rs.10 billion), which is not even one percent of the country's GDP."

According to him, this Rs.10 billion will be spent over the next five years in the field of nanotechnology of which Rs.1.8 billion have already been spent.

"Our focus should be to reach to the bottom of the pyramid where majority of our population stays. We have the human resource, skill and market to innovate for the benefit of the poor," Sibal emphasised.

He said a centre on nanotechnology would soon come up in Bangalore.