Expressing concern over scientific enterprise in the country facing a talent crunch, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said universities must reform and rejuvenate to bring back research closer to their campuses.

"I do believe that our scientific enterprise and research activity should be rooted in the university system. The centre of gravity of science and research in India has to move back closer to universities," he said addressing the CSIR Society meeting in New Delhi.

For this to happen, the varsity system must also be reformed, restructured and rejuvenated, Singh said adding "universities must be more open to the free flow of talent so that research and teaching activity can develop together".

Expressing concern over the widening regional disparities in the development of science and technology, he said that the government has tried to reduce this by funding new research institutions in States that were lagging behind. However, there was only a limited amount that the Centre could do.

"What we need is massive investment at the bottom of the pyramid, not just in financial terms but in organisational and social terms, in the states lagging behind. This is a challenge for all."

The government would do all that was needed to support the development of science and technology, he said adding that academic community and the private sector should respond to the challenges at hand.