Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's speech at the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of the Indian National Science Academy

"It gives me great pleasure to be here at the Platinum Jubilee celebration of the Indian National Science Academy. This is indeed a major milestone, that few institutions of science have achieved in India thus far. It gives us an opportunity, both, to celebrate its role in furthering the cause of Indian science over more than seven decades and, perhaps more important, to look forward to the future, towards the looming centenary of your organisation.

When INSA was established, during the colonial period, Indian scientists had already begun to excel. Sir C. V. Raman had won the Nobel Prize for his work in Physics four years earlier. Professor Jagdish Chandra Bose had already demonstrated the power and utility of microwaves. Many others, like Srinivasa Ramanujam, P. C. Ray, S. N. Bose, and Meghnad Saha, had made their seminal contributions before India became independent. Globally, science was then primarily pursued for creation of knowledge and scholarship formed the main driving force for scientific research; India was no exception.

With Independence came rapid change and a new and different commitment to science. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, our first Prime Minister, brought to governance his abiding belief in the need to propagate a scientific temper and the spirit of rational, scientific inquiry among the people of our country. He saw a close interconnect between scientific, progressive and secular values. He was convinced of the necessity of the application of science and technology in tackling the enormous economic and social challenges facing the newly independent India.

Indeed, Indian scientists did solve many pressing national problems. Prof Vijayan mentioned the Green revolution, I add that the White and Blue revolutions, are -- along with the nuclear and space revolutions, to name just a few - significant achievements of Indian science and technology .

INSA has played a major role in this process. We value its role as an apex body advising the government and the country on issues relating to the development of science and technology.

Today, the world is moving rapidly towards knowledge-based societies and economies. The pace of scientific and technological transformation all over the world has accelerated beyond our expectations. Yet, as the frontiers of knowledge are pushed forward, new and seemingly intractable problems arise which test our creativity as well as intellect.

It is against this background that we should look at the role that the Indian scientific community in general and INSA in particular could seek to play in our national life. Our priorities must reflect the many challenges and opportunities that we face as a nation. I would like to highlight a few where Indian scientists can make a tangible contribution.

The first area that comes to mind is education. Over the years we have built many institutions of excellence and I can say with some satisfaction that since the early years of Independence, no government has done more to increase the number of institutions of excellence in the country than the present government, be they institutes of science, institutes of technology, centres for research or universities in general.

Maintaining standards in sciences and education while expanding the base at such a pace is indeed a difficult task. I would expect institutions like INSA to reflect on ways to combine expansion with excellence. At the same time it is important that we raise the standards of science teaching and research uniformly so that we are not left with islands of excellence in a vast sea of mediocrity. The centre of gravity of scientific research appears to have moved away from universities, a trend that I do have worries about. The government can help with financial support but it is the scientific community that must give scholastic substance to the infrastructure that exists or is coming into being.

It is in this context some what disturbing that, committed as we are to making science education attractive to our youth, the enrollment of students in science in universities is not going up as fast as we expect it to .We cannot expect to create a large talent pool of scientists to service a knowledge economy if this share does not pick up significantly in the years to come. We need to look into the reasons for this unsatisfactory situation and I hope that you will deliberate on this as well.

I believe that we need to examine our curriculums and our approach to teaching and to research. We must ensure that our universities and our leading institutions keep up with the very best in the world and impart education on par with them.

In this effort we should make full use of the enormous pool of Indian scientific talent resident abroad. The many distinguished scientists and engineers I meet during my visits abroad are without exception eager to contribute to the development of scientific capabilities in India.

I sincerely believe that our universities must make use of the vast talent bank that exists in our country. Today, we know where the priorities lie: the scientific community must come forward to tell us how to achieve our goals. We should strengthen the emphasis that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru laid on using science and technology to overcome developmental challlneges. This legacy was carried forward by his successors. Mrs Indira Gandhi's personal interest in the green revolution ensured its success. Shri Rajiv Gandhi instituted the New Education Policy and the many technology missions that helped millions especially in our rural areas. Four years ago, apart from expanding many of these programmes, our government established the Knowledge Commission.

The two sectors that call for immediate attention are energy and the environment. Our priorities are very clear. We need greater energy efficiency. We need new and sustainable sources of commercially viable energy. We need equity in the consumption of energy. We need to reduce the human imprint on the environment. We need to establish and proliferate "best practices". And we need to meet human needs and our development goals without threatening our planet and its limited resources.

The India of the 21st Century is going to be a force to reckon with. It derives its strength from our composite culture, from our youthful population, from our democratic way of life and from the freedom of thought and deed that are guaranteed to all our citizens by our magnificent constitution. It also derives its strength from its huge pool of talent, from its scientists and technologists, its knowledge workers and its millions aspiring to a better life through better education and better opportunity.

India's challenge is in rendering the benefits of development equitably to all its citizens. We need an educational system that provides opportunity for all. We need research and development that delivers innovations and practical and pragmatic solutions to the social problems we face. We need our scientists to take the lead and help us create a world in which we are able to combine the advance of the knowledge society and the challenge of providing adequate food, good health care and nutrition, housing, energy and environment security to all our people.

I hope that when the time comes and INSA celebrates its centenary, it will have the satisfaction of knowing that it was able to chart new pathways and to play its part in transforming India into one of the world's leading powers, a truly equitable, knowledge society able to fulfill the potential of its youthful, aspiring population."