Former Prime Minister of India - Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee

INAUGURAL ADDRESS BY PRIME MINISTER SHRI ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE at the 90th Session of the Indian Science Congress

I am delighted to be here with this distinguished gathering for the 90th Session of the Indian Science Congress. At the outset, I wish all of you a very Happy New Year.

My special greetings to all the distinguished scientists from abroad, who have traveled a long way to participate in this prestigious event. I am as pleased as all of you to know that our respected Rashtrapatiji, Dr. Abdul Kalam, will be coming here tomorrow to grace this occasion. It is a tribute to Indian science that a renowned scientist-patriot has become India’s President.

I am happy that this Science Congress is being held in the excellent academic backdrop of Bangalore University. Bangalore has become the IT, Bio-tech and Space Technology hub of India.

Traditionally, this Garden City is known for its beautiful sprawling parks. However, now it is also known for parks of another kind – Technology Parks. I can tell you that India is earning handsomely from the export of the unique floriculture – “software floriculture” -- from these parks. My special word of appreciation for Dr. Kasturirangan, the General President of this year’s Science Congress. Whenever I see him, I feel reassured by his self-confident and determined approach, which, I am sure, is not his alone, but represents the ethos of all his colleagues at ISRO. The Nation is proud of the achievements of our Space Programme and of your leadership to it, Dr. Kasturirangan.

Today I am delighted to launch the new Science and Technology Policy 2003. The Scientific Policy Resolution of 1958 had inspired India’s scientific endeavours in earlier decades.

This was updated in 1983 with the adoption of the Technology Policy Statement of 1983. Exactly after twenty years, we are launching STP 2003. This shows that we can respond to the breathtaking changes that have taken place in the world of science and technology in the closing decades of the last century, and also to the challenges and opportunities before us in the new century.

I congratulate Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi and all the eminent scientists who have worked hard for preparing a forward-looking policy.

Since ancient times India has had an illustrious tradition of scientific enquiry. Numerous fundamental scientific and mathematical concepts are attributed to ancient Indian scientists. They also developed applied knowledge in medicine, metallurgy, chemistry, agriculture, textiles and other fields. But far more important than these specific contributions of ancient Indian scientists and philosophers is their integral approach to Knowledge and Life. They explored all areas of Jnan and Vijnan in a holistic way, emphasizing that that man’s material and spiritual development should be pursued in a balanced manner, without ignoring one at the expense of the other. I believe that our world needs this approach as much in the new century as it did in all the previous ones.

Today I applaud the impressive contributions of our scientists and technologists to India’s national development and national security since Independence. In several frontiers areas, our achievements rank among the best in the world.

India’s chain of national and regional laboratories, scientific departments in universities, IITs and other academic establishments, can justly claim to comprise the scientific infrastructure of an advanced nation.

My vision is to embrace science and technology, in all its true spirit, to realize our dream of making India a Developed Nation. As you are well aware, the Government is fully committed to supporting you in this endeavour. The Tenth Plan has recognized that productivity-led growth is the path India has to take in order to attain the ambitious target of 8% GDP growth rate. Appropriate S&T inputs at all levels and in all sectors of the economy are needed to pave this path. Some of the thrust areas for Indian science now and in the coming years are obvious.

We have to further consolidate the gains we have made in agricultural science and achieve higher productivity in the production of pulses, oil seeds and vegetables, animal husbandry, dairying, fisheries, horticulture, cultivation of medicinal and energy plants, and agro-processing industries. Application of new scientific and technological capabilities generated through Biotechnology, IT and Space Technologies should be extensively pursued. Minimising wastage in farm produce continues to be neglected tasks in most parts of the country. All these efforts are essential to increase rural incomes and generate new employment opportunities in the rural economy, which is our first developmental priority.

India is also facing critical challenges in meeting the basic healthcare needs of all our citizens, land and water conservation, energy security, and environmental protection. All these call for greater contributions from Indian science. I would like to make a special mention of the large quantum of energy that would be necessary to raise the living standards of our people. For this, it is inevitable that we develop advanced energy technologies capable of making use of domestic energy resources and satisfying modern environmental norms. Further developments in nuclear energy systems, non-conventional and renewable energy options and technologies for cleaner use of fossil fuels should receive our urgent attention. Technological developments for achieving greater efficiency in the conversion, transport and use of energy should also be our focus.

Disaster prevention and management has become another pressing challenge before the Nation. Although disasters know no boundaries, when they strike, it is the vulnerable sections of society that suffer the most.

The Tenth Plan has placed great emphasis on this task, and called for vital inputs from science and technology. While trying to maximize our work on all these developmental fronts, we should simultaneously intensify our activity in frontier areas of science and technology.

Our space programme has earned India global recognition. About a year ago, it demonstrated India’s capability to launch a satellite into geostationary orbit with our own launch vehicles. I am confident that it will soar higher in 2003 and in the years ahead. Like space, oceans are another frontier beckoning India. I am happy to learn about the significant progress made by the Department of Ocean Development in improving ocean observation capabilities. We should firm up our future plans for assessing, exploring and harnessing the vast energy resources in the ocean. This is the most appropriate time, when the international order in respect of the ocean system is evolving and taking final shape, that our scientists and scientific institutions tune themselves to build up a reservoir of human resources and technological infrastructure.

The 21st century is poised to witness exciting breakthroughs in biotechnology. India, too, is poised to be in the vanguard of these developments, thanks to the efforts of the Department of Biotechnology and many enterprising Indian biotech companies. Generation of new vaccines, accurate and low cost diagnostic kits, genetically superior plant material, many recombinant products and technologies – all these would surely help in poverty alleviation, combating malnutrition, protection from dangerous infections, and benefit our society in many other ways.

Distinguished Indian scientists, if your contributions to India’s socio-economic growth, as also to the world’s body of knowledge, are to increase further, we need to candidly recognize and address several problems. I wish to share my observations with you on some of them. Disconnect between science and policy: We live in an age when policy problems, whether in the economic, national security, environmental, or social development areas, are characterized by immense complexity. Such issues are incompletely grasped by the concepts and methods of any one discipline. They call for a multidisciplinary approach. I appeal to our scientists and technologists to be pro-active in throwing light on policy concerns. At the same time, I also appeal to our policy makers in the Government, whether at the political or bureaucratic levels, to pro-actively seek such inputs. Insufficient linkages between R&D establishments and the broader economy: Till recently, the economic impact of Indian science and technology was far less than its true potential. Economic actors and scientists did not recognize each other sufficiently. On the one hand, during the era of the license-permit-quota raj, industry had little incentive to upgrade its processes or products. On the other, many of our scientists viewed applied research and its commercialization as an inferior occupation.

I am glad to note that, especially in the CSIR, there are clear winds of change. I understand that last month CSIR was granted its 100th US patent during the calendar year 2002, an event that is unparalleled in Indian science.

We need such initiatives in all our publicly funded institutions. Here I would like to repeat my earlier appeal to industries in the private sector. They should invest more in indigenous R&D, in partnership with our S&T institutions, IITs and universities, so that their products and services become globally competitive.

Since R&D has today become a global enterprise, with top corporations spending hundreds of billions of dollars, this partnership should also boldly tap the huge new opportunities that have opened up in this field. Promotion of traditional technologies: Diversity is as much a part of India’s technological landscape as it is of our economic landscape. There is a need to produce useful R&D inputs to enrich all the three kinds of technologies that operate in India – modern, conventional and traditional. In this context, we cannot neglect the immense scientific talent that exists outside the formal S&T establishment. I am told that the National Innovation Foundation, which was set up two and a half years ago, has started championing the cause of grassroots innovators, be they slum dwellers, artisans, school dropouts, illiterate farmers, and so on.

We need to encourage conversion of these innovations into profitable enterprises with appropriate measures.

Bureaucratization of the R&D establishments: We have to ensure that our scientific institutions do not become afflicted with the culture of our Governmental agencies.

Ordinarily, seniority should not displace merit. Talent should not be suppressed and individualism should not replace teamwork. Inadequate attention to these aspects sometimes results in our talented younger scientists getting frustrated.

Internal brain-drain: Closely linked to the bureaucratic culture in many of our S&T establishments is the disturbing phenomenon of internal brain-drain. Apart from the migration of significant numbers of our talented scientists and technologists abroad, we also face a problem of diversion of talent away from R&D careers to non-scientific careers in both Government and the private sector. We need to examine why a career in science is not considered worthwhile by so many of our talented younger scientists. Whatever the reasons, we must face this issue squarely, by taking visible, concrete steps to give promising scientists and technologists the necessary opportunities, recognition, standing, and adequate material compensation.

Attracting the Indian Scientific Diaspora: Another related issue is the need – and the opportunity – to attract our large and accomplished scientific diaspora. They are more than willing to contribute to our national development. We can use their expertise in critical R&D areas. Wherever necessary, we should devise pragmatic and flexible schemes to enable them to come and work in our S&T institutions.

Scientific education: Lastly, I wish to briefly touch upon a disturbing trend. While we have several exceptional scientific and technological institutions, some others turn out graduates and post-graduates, even doctorates, of indifferent quality.

We need to reflect on this and take corrective action.

Friends, I am full of optimism about the future of Indian science. If your Today is brighter than your Yesterday, your Tomorrow will be brighter still. What is needed is pursuit of excellence with single-minded determination and dedication -- not just individual excellence but institutional excellence -- and making it a sustainable hallmark of the entire S&T establishment. Like in sports, achievements in science and technology are a source of national pride.

Therefore, the Nation expects you to aim higher, be ambitious and achieve big things. I am sure that our scientists and technologists will serve role models to all other participants in building a Self-Confident India.

With these words, I am pleased to inaugurate the 90th Session of the Indian Science Congress.

Thank you.