Government agencies, Academia Sinica and national defense-related establishments will spend a total of NT$105.4 billion (about US$3.2 billion) on science and technology projects in fiscal year 2010, according to the National Science Council (NSC) under the Executive Yuan. The council approved Tuesday 344 proposals for science and technological research projects to be carried out in 2010. The proposals, submitted by 25 administrative departments, carry a combined price tag amounting to NT$88.88 billion. A spokesman for the NSC said this figure, plus the estimated spending of Academia Sinica and national defense-related establishments, will bring the government's 2010 budget for research and development to an estimated NT$105.4 billion, a growth of 5.16 percent compared with fiscal 2009. NSC Deputy Minister Chen Cheng-hong noted that although President Ma Ying-jeou had targeted raising the government's R&D spending to no less than 3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product, the goal, set forth during his presidential campaign, has been difficult to achieve this year. Statistics released by the council indicate that the government's R&D spending amounted to NT$100.2 billion in fiscal 2008, with a year-to-year growth of 8.71 percent. Over the past 10 years, the annual growth between 2001 and 2006 mostly exceeded 10 percent. In 2007 and 2008, however, the growth rates registered only 2.39 percent and 1.56 percent, respectively. 