6 Years of The Real Plan

Within the Programme of Expansion and Consolidation of Scientific and Technological Knowledge, there highlights the incentive to basic research, to applied research and to technological development. During the period from 2000 to 2003, the programme intends to invest over R$ 430 million.

A new model of financing for research is being put in place in Brazil, to be funded with resources from former state owned companies which have been privatised. For each privatised sector, there is a forecast for the establishment of a fund for lending support to research. The fund pertaining to oil is already operating. This fund is to generate resources of around R$ 100 million. The total resources the fund will count on should be of about R$ 1 billion.

The Brazilian research and graduate-study system can only be compared, in the developing world, to those of China and India. Brazil has made much progress: in 1999 CNPq and CAPES granted 77 thousand scholarships and 4.7 thousand doctor degrees were obtained. In 1951, the year CNPq was established, 70 scholarships were granted.

Information Technology

The number of personal computers grew nearly five fold; from 2.2 million in 1994 to over 10 million in 2000.

In tune with the world trend, there has been a significant reduction in the price f microcomputers for household use and for small enterprises: a reduction of around 30% in dollars (US$ 1,300.00 in 1994 to US$ 800.00 in 2000).

The percentage of households having microcomputers increased significantly, from 2.5% of the total in 1995 to 7.5% in 2000.

Around 40% of the microcomputer equipment currently marketed in Brazil are meant for households and micro or small enterprises, which shows the increasing penetration of information technology in society.

Brazil already is the 7th country in the world in terms of the number of computers. Furthermore, the Brazilian market for computers represents more than half of the Latin-American market.

In 1996, there were less than two thousand INTERNET sites in Brazil. Currently there are over two million sites. The number of users of the INTERNET has also grown in a most demonstrative manner: they were less than 200 thousand in 1995, and currently several surveys indicate estimations of six million users.

The billing of the information-technology sector — including digital equipment for telecommunications — has practically doubled from 1993 to 1998, moving from R$ 6.6 billion to R$ 11.2 billion.

Exports of this industry presented a marked increase, from levels scarcely above US$ 200 million a year, at the beginning of the 1990s, to current values close to US$ 800 million. Aimed at promoting even greater growth, an effort is in course for reinforcing the productive chain in the industry, with a view at reducing imports of electronic components.

Important corporations have settled in Brazil or upgraded their productive units in the Country, both in order to serve the internal market and geared to exports, particularly to South America. Centres for technological development have also been put in place, including as a function of the requirements of the Information-Technology Act. During the period 1993-1999, investments in research and development implemented by corporations of this industry reached over R$ 2.7 billion, out of which R$ 900 million in agreements with national learning and research institutions.

It is estimated that currently the information-technology creates about 100 thousand direct jobs in the Country, nearly half of them for university-degree employees. Also as a consequence of the requirements of the Information-Technology Act, about 200 corporations within the industry have already been certified according to international quality standards (ISO).