Vice President Addresses at Closing Ceremony of Silver Jubilee
Celebrations of Jawahar Lal Nehru Centre for Advance Scientific
Research at Bangalore
The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that our
development plans have consistently emphasised the need for sustained
investment in research and related activities leading to creation of
substantial capacity and capabilities in science and technology. The
fruits of this effort are evident in our nuclear and space programmes,
information and communication technology services, automotive and
pharmaceuticals industries and other areas such as agriculture,
healthcare, bio-technology and nano-technology etc. Addressing at the
“Closing Ceremony of the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Jawahar
Lal Nehru Centre for Advance Scientific Research (JNCASR)” at
Bangalore, Karnataka today, he said that despite these achievements,
it is widely felt that we are yet to realise our full potential in the
field of scientific research and technological innovation. As the
Indian economy continues on the path of rapid, more inclusive and
sustainable growth, it will be all the more necessary to ensure that
our capabilities in science and technology grow in strength.
He said that many positive steps have been taken by the Government in
recent years to give a boost to science & technology efforts. These
are having a steady, incremental effect. The overall outcome, however,
is a mixed one.
The Vice President opined that it is clear that if our aspiration of
becoming a leading global force in science is to be attained, a
massive increase in S&T education will be necessary – both in quality
and quantity. This would be essential in order to fulfil our domestic
demand of S&T human resources and to emerge as a quality supplier of
scientific knowledge for the rest of the world. Our strengths in
original research in basic science have been substantial though
science, done in India, has often led to striking new technologies
being developed elsewhere in the world. It is believed that this is a
consequence of the overall weakness of the innovation ecosystem in the
country. We need to overcome this.
He said that the modern state must of necessity be a welfare state and
providing human security should be its principal target. In this
endeavour, the men and women of science have to be in the vanguard. It
is here that the relevance of creating and sustaining a scientific
temper assumes critical importance, more so in an environment like
ours where many people in our vast population tend to live
simultaneously in different ages and oscillate between various shades
of tradition, superstition and of modernity. This creates mental
dilemmas because, as the poet Milton put it:
‘The mind is its own place, and in itself
‘Can make a heav’n of hell, a hell of heav’en’
Following is the text of Vice President’s address :
“I thank Professor CNR Rao for inviting me to this function today to
mark the Closing of the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Jawahar Lal
Nehru Centre for Advance Scientific Research, an institution of
eminence dedicated to research and training in the frontiers of
science and engineering. The Silver Jubilee coincides with the 125th
Birth Anniversary of Jawahar Lal Nehru who is rightly called the
architect of modern scientific and technological infrastructure in our
country. He strove to promote scientific temper amongst citizens. He
considered this to be the most potent instrument for combating the
social and economic ills of our society and for transforming the
country into a modern, secular and progressive nation-state.
Nehru’s vision for science and technology is best described in his oft
quoted statement of 1961: “It is science alone that can solve the
problems of hunger and poverty, insanitation and illiteracy, of
superstition and deadening custom and tradition, of vast resources
running to waste, of a rich country inhabited by starving people…Who
indeed could afford to ignore science today? At every turn we have to
seek its aid…the future belongs to science and to those who make
friends with science.”
Based on this, our development plans have consistently emphasised the
need for sustained investment in research and related activities
leading to creation of substantial capacity and capabilities in
science and technology. The fruits of this effort are evident in our
nuclear and space programmes, information and communication technology
services, automotive and pharmaceuticals industries and other areas
such as agriculture, healthcare, bio-technology and nano-technology
etc.
Despite these achievements, it is widely felt that we are yet to
realise our full potential in the field of scientific research and
technological innovation. As the Indian economy continues on the path
of rapid, more inclusive and sustainable growth, it will be all the
more necessary to ensure that our capabilities in science and
technology grow in strength.
Many positive steps have been taken by the Government in recent years
to give a boost to science & technology efforts. These are having a
steady, incremental effect. The overall outcome, however, is a mixed
one.
A paper titled ‘The Research and Innovation Performance of the G-20’
published by Thomson Reuters in March 2014, gives some relevant data
on the Indian science sector:
1. It gained growth momentum in the last decade.
India, like China, is rapidly enlarging its research presence
globally. India’s output of Science papers expanded nearly three times
the world average from 2003-2012. Due to this our share in world
output increased from 2.5% to 3.6%. According to one estimate, we
moved from 15th position in 2003 to 9th position in 2010 in terms of
scientific publications.
2. Citation impact rose from about half to three
quarters of the world average during the decade. While our
contribution of highly cited papers, as a percentage of total output,
has improved, it has remained stubbornly low, achieving by 2011 only
about half of the 1% expected.
3. In the 2005 to 2012 period, published patent
applications originating from India have oscillated between 4,000 and
7,000 per annum, maintaining an average over the period of around
5,900 per annum, which is around the same level as Australia and Great
Britain. However, with a population of over 1.2 billion compared to 22
million for Australia and 62 million for Great Britain, this level can
be considered particularly low.
4. Inventiveness in basic science, as indicated by
creation of intellectual property, is low and India’s innovation
system ranking varies between 50 and 60 among the nations. Domestic
innovation has remained stable from 2005 to 2012 at around 29%. Nearly
two thirds of all Indian patent applications in 2012 were from foreign
concerns seeking protection for their innovations in the Indian
market.
In a report titled ‘Science in India (2004-2013) Decade of
Achievements and Rising Aspirations’ prepared by the Science Advisory
Council to the Prime Minister, some other challenges have been
highlighted, which need to be looked at carefully:
• The percentage of our GDP spent on research and
development has stagnated at around 1% for over two decades. Asian
countries like China and South Korea have out left us behind in R&D
expenditure. Moreover, two-thirds of this expenditure comes from
central government and only a quarter from industry. We need to
increase the overall expenditure to at least 2% by 2017, as envisaged
in the 12th Five Year Plan. More importantly, industry has to increase
its contribution to R&D expenditure and bring it in line with the
share contributed by industry in other comparable countries.
• At the school-leaving level there is great
enthusiasm for science. However, as a career option for our students,
science continues to rank below other streams, mainly because it is
seen as offering fewer opportunities. Consequently, there is a
shortage of required human resources in higher education in sciences,
including in advanced research.
• At higher educational levels, in 2005-06, India
produced about 1000 PhDs in engineering and technology, whereas the US
and China were already producing about eight times as many in 2004-
05. In areas such as computer science, the situation is serious, with
only 25 or so PhDs being produced per year in India.
• During 2004-06, India produced one research
scientist for every 7100 people; China 1 in 1080, S. Korea 1 in 240,
Sweden 1 in 163.
It is thus clear that if our aspiration of becoming a leading global
force in science is to be attained, a massive increase in S&T
education will be necessary – both in quality and quantity. This would
be essential in order to fulfil our domestic demand of S&T human
resources and to emerge as a quality supplier of scientific knowledge
for the rest of the world.
Our strengths in original research in basic science have been
substantial though science, done in India, has often led to striking
new technologies being developed elsewhere in the world. It is
believed that this is a consequence of the overall weakness of the
innovation ecosystem in the country. We need to overcome this.
To begin with, the widespread perception that basic science is not
relevant for technology has to be dispelled. The PM’s Scientific
Advisory Council Report, which I quoted earlier, rightly asserts that
the results of basic research are prerequisites for many future
technological advances and societal benefits. Tomorrow’s technology
often depends on today’s basic science. Innovative solutions will,
therefore, have to be encouraged so that ideas which germinate in
research centres reach the market place and go on to benefit the
society.
The above facts and figures suggest that while there has been some
progress, much more needs to be done if we are to be counted amongst
the top ranked countries in the world in scientific and technological
research. In the years ahead, Government, private sector, industry,
civil society, educational institutions and all of us, will have to
work collectively towards:
(a) Increasing India’s contribution to global
scientific literature to the desired levels, including in highly cited
papers;
(b) Increasing our ownership of intellectual assets,
through higher levels of patenting;
(c) Making pursuit of scientific research an attractive
career option for our youth and students;
(d) Imparting global quality scientific and engineering
education to our students to create the required human resources, for
our own needs and for the rest of the world;
(e) Creating an environment which encourages free
thinking research and innovation in all spheres of science;
(f) Ensuring that some of our educational institutions,
existing and new, should be ranked amongst the top 50 in the world.
It is important, however, to keep in mind that mere increase in the
numbers of Ph.Ds or scientific institutions and publications or
patents is not an end in itself. These are means to promote the
wellbeing and progress of all sections of our society.
The challenge before you, ladies and gentlemen, is to ensure that your
work here in frontier areas of science and engineering through your
seven units and outreach programs helps in identifying the causes
behind our insufficient progress in some areas of agriculture, in
achieving energy independence and efficient water management, in
tackling climate change, and in providing universal healthcare and
education and shelter for all.
The modern state must of necessity be a welfare state and providing
human security should be its principal target. In this endeavour, the
men and women of science have to be in the vanguard. It is here that
the relevance of creating and sustaining a scientific temper assumes
critical importance, more so in an environment like ours where many
people in our vast population tend to live simultaneously in different
ages and oscillate between various shades of tradition, superstition
and of modernity. This creates mental dilemmas because, as the poet
Milton put it:
‘The mind is its own place, and in itself
‘Can make a heav’n of hell, a hell of heav’en’
Nehru probably had an inkling of the problem. In response to a
question by Andre Malraux about the greatest challenge faced by him,
he said “creating a just state by just means; perhaps, too, creating a
secular state in a religious country.” The validity of this
introspection lives with us to this day in the challenges that emerge
to pluralism and secularism.
Bertrand Russell, who was a contemporary of Nehru, wrote in 1950 that
mankind needs two kinds of things that are closely interwoven:
“organisation – political organisation for elimination of wars,
economic organisation to enable men to work productively…educational
organisation to generate a sane internationalism. On the other hand it
needs certain moral qualities…The qualities most needed are charity
and tolerance, not some form of fanatical faith such as is offered by
the various rampant isms.”
I venture to hope that given the exuberance of our young people, some
of whom are present in the audience today, we will continue on the
right path and attain new heights in the field of research and
innovation. Only that can make us a global knowledge powerhouse. I
congratulate the Centre and its personnel on this landmark occasion. I
wish all of you success in your future endeavours.
Jai Hind.”
*****
Sanjay Kumar/VPI (1)/05.01.2014-Bangalore
(Release ID :114344)