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| Manmohan Singh (Left) inaugurating the Indian Science Congress, 2013 |
By Vinod Varshney
Since no one who has
not studied science up to the graduate level can aspire to get
even the primary membership of the Indian Science Congress Association, nomination
of prime minister
Manmohan Singh, a non-science person, as
its general president in its centenary year is inexplicable.
Does it mean that India has not even
one scientist worth his lab-coat to head the Association in its landmark year?
This looks even more odd in the context of the official publicity that Manmohan Singh is
the only prime minister other than Nehru to hold this august office.
True, Nehru was nominated as its
general president in 1947 and he continued even after he became prime minister.
But he was an uncanny visionary who had made seminal contributions to the
growth of India’s basic science infrastructure. It was his far-sight in
establishing the series of national labs that took us where we are in nuclear
science, space technology, food security, healthcare and industrial advances.
In comparison Manmohan Singh’s
record is dismal. Year after year he repeats from the podium of Science Congress that we should spend 2 percent of GDP on S&T research,
but in eight years of his rule this goal has move up to 1 percent from
0.8!
While he splurged several lakh
crores on subsidies and subventions which can at best be labelled as
dole-oriented, or cash for votes, they add next to nothing to the nation’s
assets. But when it comes to science he has no money.
Science administrators assure that
there is no dearth of money; only, our system is unable to utilise it. One
fails to understand whose responsibility is it to see that enough money is
allocated for science and properly spent. Putting any Johnny in charge of S&T
ministry will not help.
The bureaucrats quote figures to
show that the government is meeting 73 percent of the overall R&D expenditure;
it is for the private sector to do the rest.
But the private sector looks for short term profits rather than
long-term benefits. It is unfortunate that both the government and the private
sector do not see much role for S&T in India’s future.
Look at China. Its new ruling caucus
has none without a management or technology
PG. It is the secret of their phenomenal rally in all fields. They are now
poised to overtake the USA in many S&T fields. Two years ago China built the
fastest super computer. Today it has mastered virtually all frontier technologies
--it builds stealth aircraft,
submarines, missiles and spacecraft for manned flight.
With the world galloping away fast
India stands little chance of catching up unless its higher science education
and research bases are overhauled and fortified. The new S&T policy
unveiled at the Science Congress is a fine document but without commitment to
implement, it would remain an academic paper!
The next budget, coming on the 2014
Lok Sabha election-eve, will be populist. So, no point in anticipating any big
deal for S&T. Then how will the government implement the imperatives listed in the new S&T policy?
Indian Science Congress Association
perhaps daydreams that by making Manmohan Singh the general president, his mind could be re-engineered to give more money to Indian science!
