New Delhi: Lamenting that India has not been able to make a impact on the world scale in the field of science, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday asked scientists to dream big and not to despair.
Addressing the 70th foundation day of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Singh said conventional scientific disciplines and approaches were proving unequal to dealing with complex developmental challenges.
“We have not been able to make an impact on a world scale commensurate with our large scientific manpower pool,” Singh said addressing scientists.
In his address, which was webcast across all 37 CSIR laboratories, the Prime Minister lauded the achievements of the Council over its 70 years of existence but asked them not to rest on the laurels.
“However, with all our achievements, we cannot rest on our laurels. As a nation, we have not succeeded in mobilising enough private investment into science to raise our investment in scientific research to 2% of GDP,” Singh said.
He said scientists need to recognise that excellence has not percolated across all the research and academic institutions.
Singh said CSIR needed to devote itself to these national challenges in the years to come and will have to take up national leadership in science, engineering and technology.
“Young scientists must dream big and refuse to despair,” the Prime Minister said.
Singh said he was glad that CSIR has proven its professional worth in every phase of India’s growth, in line with prevailing national policies and national priorities.
“In the early days of Independence, it was a champion of import substitution, rebuilding our industrial base in the face of shortages and resource crunch,” he said.
The Prime Minister noted that when India became a victim of technology denial, CSIR laboratories created advanced products and technologies, such as India’s first super computer, radiation shielding glasses and components for aerospace and satellites, emerging as a credible partner for the strategic sector.
The Council also catapulted India as the top generic drug producer, he recalled.
“After India embraced globalisation, introduced economic reforms and joined the WTO, the CSIR quickly emerged as the flag bearer of the Intellectual Property movement in our country and became the single largest holder of US and European patents,” he said.
Singh complimented CSIR on its unique attempt to make healthcare affordable by exploiting the power of open source drug discovery.
“As a concept, this is a global first and the world has turned from scepticism to partnership,” he said, adding that he was happy to learn that the Council has opened its patent chest for accelerated drug discovery for hitherto neglected diseases like tuberculosis and malaria.
PTI
-Firstpost
PM Manmohan Singh asks scientists to dream big and not to despair
NEW DELHI: Lamenting that India has not been able to make an impact on the world scale in the field of science, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh On Wednesday asked scientists to dream big and not to despair.
Addressing the 70th foundation day of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Singh said conventional scientific disciplines and approaches were proving unequal to dealing with complex developmental challenges.
"We have not been able to make an impact on a world scale commensurate with our large scientific manpower pool," Singh said addressing scientists.
In his address, which was webcast across all 37 CSIR laboratories, the Prime Minister lauded the achievements of the Council over its 70 years of existence but asked them not to rest on the laurels.
"However, with all our achievements, we cannot rest on our laurels. As a nation, we have not succeeded in mobilising enough private investment into science to raise our investment in scientific research to 2 per cent of GDP," Singh said.
He said scientists need to recognise that excellence has not percolated across all the research and academic institutions.
Manmohan Singh said CSIR needed to devote itself to these national challenges in the years to come and will have to take up national leadership in science, engineering and technology.
"Young scientists must dream big and refuse to despair," the Prime Minister said.
-TOI
Bhatnagar prize for three Bangalore scientists
Three scientists from Bangalore are among the 11 young scientists who
have been selected for the 2012 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, the
highest award given annually to scientists below 45 for outstanding
contribution in the field of science and technology in the country.
The awards were announced on Wednesday at the 70th foundation day of the
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in New Delhi.
All three awardees from Bangalore are from the Indian Institute of
Science (IISc.) and, significantly, two of them work in the cutting-edge
field of nanoscience and technology. They are: Ravishankar Narayanan,
Associate Professor, Materials Research Centre, in the area of
engineering sciences; Arindam Ghosh, Associate Professor, Department of
Physics, in the field of physical sciences, and Govindsamy Mugesh,
Associate Professor, Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, in
the field of chemical sciences.
On graphene
Prof. Ghosh’s work has revolved around graphene, the carbon allotrope that has become a hot research field in the recent past.
He told The Hindu that he was thankful to the scientific
community for recognising their research work. Focussed on the advanced
area of nanotechnology, his team has been working on fast and very
efficient electronic devices using graphene.
“We are trying to look at applications for graphene in electronics, in solar energy and sensors,” Prof. Ghosh explained.
Speaking to The Hindu, Prof. Narayanan said he was proud to be
chosen for this prestigious award, the “biggest recognition for a
scientist in India”.
The award, which is given for work done over the past five years,
recognises the work Prof. Narayanan and his team have been doing in the
field of nanoscience. He credited the award to the outstanding students
working with him over the years.
His group has been working on understanding mechanisms of how
nanocrystals grow during wet chemical synthesis. This, he explains, is
important in being able to control the nanocrystal shape evolution under
different conditions that directly influence their properties.
This is part of the centre’s ongoing research in nanotechnology. Last
year, Prof. Narayanan was also awarded the Swarna Jayanthi award by the
Department of Science and Technology. He did his master’s and Ph.D. in
the Department of Metallurgy, IISc.
Fellowship scheme for scientists above 70 years
On the occasion of its 70 foundation day, the Council of Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR) on Wednesday announced research fellowships
for scientists aged above 70.
Under the scheme, scientists would be given Rs. 20 lakh a year for five
years, if they remain active, guide students and publish research
papers. They should have also won the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award.
CSIR Director-General Samir Brahmachari said many scientists continued
to be active even after 70 and “we want to take advantage of services of
such people.” Also, the fellowships would be available only to those
who are not getting any support. Currently, there may be five to 10
scientists who would be eligible for the scheme.
Dr. Brahmachari also announced the winners of Bhatnagar award for 2012.
They include Shantanu Chowdhury of the CSIR-Institute of Genomics and
Integrative Biology, Suman Kumar Dhar of the Jawaharlal Nehru University
(Biological Sciences), Govindasamy Mugesh of the Indian Institute of
Science, Gangadhar J. Sanjayan of the CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory
[Chemical Sciences], Ravi Shankar Narayanan of the Indian Institute of
Science and Shanti Pavan of the IIT, Madras (Engineering Sciences).
The other winners are: Siva Ramachandran Athreya and Debashish Goswami
of the Indian Statistical Institute (Mathematical Sciences), Sandip Basu
of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (Medical Sciences), Arindam Ghosh
of the Indian Institute of Science and Krishendu Sengupta of the Indian
Association for the Cultivation of Science (Physical Sciences).
We’re yet to make a mark in science globally, regrets Manmohan
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday lauded the Council of
Scientific and Industrial Research for its achievements but rued that
the country had not been able to a make a mark in the global arena.
In an address at a CSIR function got up to celebrate the 70th Foundation
Day here, Dr. Singh said: “We cannot rest on our laurels. As a nation,
we have not succeeded in mobilising enough private investment in science
to raise our investment in scientific research to two per cent of GDP.
We need to recognise that excellence has not percolated across all
research and academic institutions. We have not been able to make an
impact on a world-scale commensurate with our large scientific manpower
pool.”
The CSIR should devote itself to these national challenges in the years
to come. “It will have to take up national leadership in science,
engineering and technology.”
Recalling the history of the CSIR, the Prime Minister complemented it on
making an attempt to make healthcare affordable by exploiting the
powers of open source drug discovery and remaining firmly rooted in the
country’s social milieu while selecting and implementing projects. “I am
glad that the Council has proven its professional worth in every phase
of India’s growth in line with prevailing national policies and
priorities.”
Referring to the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research recently
set up by the CSIR to train young scientists and engineers in
transdisciplinary skills, he said: “This is a good initiative and I look
forward to early results.”
Dr. Singh presented the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award for
2011 to 11 young scientists: A.P. Sharma of the International Centre for
Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, R. Shankaranarayanan of the
CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, B. Sundaram of the
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, G.N. Sastry of
the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, S. Doraiswamy of the
National Institute of Oceanography, Sirshendu De of IIT Kharagpur, U.
Ramamurthy and K.N. Balaji of the Indian Institute of Science, Mahajan
Mj of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University, P. Sarkar of the
Indian Institute of Statistics and S. Minwalla of the Tata Institute of
Fundamental Research.
Congratulating the awardees, the Prime Minister said, “Young scientists must dream big and refuse to despair.”
Measure the research outputs in science and technology objectively not subjectively. The impact factor of the publications, the number citations received for a publication for research rather just the number of publications. And number of patents and royalties earned for technology development rather than amount spent in development.
ReplyDeleteThe amount spent on R&D for S&T needs to be increased but the payment needs to come from private industry not by government. Then only the R&D will be professional and deliver results for economic growth and progress of the country.But I have a serious doubt whether PM is really interested in that. There is a conspiracy theory behind that - India remains slaves to foreign technology and never develop our own and become self reliant.
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