India's prime minister on Tuesday said the country was not spending enough on scientific research, meaning it lagged badly behind regional rival China.

Speaking at an annual science conference, Manmohan Singh said India was spending only one percent of its trillion-dollar gross domestic product (GDP) on scientific research.

"As far as resources are concerned, the fraction of GDP on research and development in India has been too low and stagnant," Singh said in the eastern Indian city of Bhubaneswar.

"We must aim to increase the total research and development spending as a percentage of the GDP to at least two percent by the end of the 12th plan (2012-2017) period," Singh said.

Singh added spending on research can only be doubled if industry jacked up its contribution "significantly" in the sector but warned that scientific programmes should not be "pre-occupied with problems of the rich."

He added that "India's relative position in the world of science had been declining and we have been overtaken by countries like China."

While India boasts a burgeoning class of urban rich thanks to a rapidly expanding economy, hundreds of millions of people still face a lack of food, clean water and proper housing.

Singh also lauded Indian women scientists and said one of them currently headed an ambitious project to develop nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles capable of striking targets 3,500 kilometres (2,200 miles) away.