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The Rediff Special/ Dr Murli Manohar Joshi

Way to go!

This is the golden jubilee year of our country and it is entirely appropriate that science and technology have been accorded a pride of place in the development of India. May 11, 1998 demonstrated Indian scientific technology in all its glory. It was a day that saw a trinity of achievements: the launching of Hansa 3, the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research-designed all composite, 2 seater, advanced trainer aircraft; the test firing of Trishul, the short range surface-to-air missile; and the historic triple nuclear explosions at Pokhran that established India as a credible nuclear weapons state.

The golden jubilee year of Independence also saw the launch of Indian remote sensing satellite IRS-1D, using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, which was designed and built in India, by Indians. It proved India's capacity to place the 1200 kg class of satellites in polar orbits and heralded the era of technological self-reliance in launching satellites.

The next flight PSLV-Cs, due this year, will launch IRS-P4, meant for observation of oceans. PSLV-C2 will also carry on board a Korean and German satellite, signifying the start of marketing of Indian launch services, internationally.

The INSAT system continues to provide vital services in telecommunications, television, broadcasting, meteorology and disaster warning. It is also being used to conduct the Jhabua Development Communications Project under which training and education is being provided to tribals in Madhya Pradesh. INSAT-2E is due to be launched in 1998-99. It will have 11 transponders leased out to the International Telecommunication Satellite Organisation.

The progress in the development of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehcile is very heartening. The launch of GSAT-1 is also due this year; the GSAT satellites will demonstrate new technologies of satellite communications like digital audio-broadcasting.

In the years to come, as the demand on science and technology expands, technical skills of the highest order would be needed. We will have to be competitive on the world scene, contribute to the global economy and have our fair share of it. We will, therefore, have to further strengthen our scientific base and prepare ourselves for excellence, and establish ourselves as a strong and technically sound nation.

Since industries have not been readily coming forward to fund long-term industrial research and development programmes, during the last plan the ministry of human resource development, with a special grant from the Planning Commission, initiated a number of projects under what were called the Technology Development Missions.

Under these missions, which were in areas like food processing, new materials, integrated design, competitive manufacturing and energy efficient technologies, the IITs identified a number of goal-oriented projects in conjunction with industrial partners.

The government funded these projects to the extent of 80 per cent with the requirement that the industry fund at least 20 per cent. These mission projects have given a boost to industrial sponsored research in the country.

Another significant way of interacting with industry is by offering consultancy services in critical areas like software, product and process development, information systems and environmental issues.

Consultancy projects are usually short-term in nature and are given by industry with the objective of solving a specific problem faced by them. The projects need to be handled in a business-like fashion.

The government has recognised that the future lies in mastering information technology and that India has the requisite potential for emerging as a global information technology power. The prime minister's Task Force on Information Technology and Software Development has just submitted its report which lays down a three-pronged initiative to make India an IT superpower:

* Accelerating the setting up of IT infrastructure

* Creation of the policy ambience for increasing software exports to $ 50 billions by 2008

* Extensive use of IT in all sections of society

To achieve the needed thrust, the report suggests an operational knowledge that will see installation of computers with Internet access in every school, university and public hospital by 2003, networking of all centres of higher education to spread distance education, and making IT compulsory for all degree courses.

As a matter of fact, we have hardly any time to lose. Ironically, while we have miles to go even ensuring universal literacy, we have been overtaken by the imperative necessity to be not only IT literate, but proficient in the use of IT to cope with the demand of a future that is already upon us. Supercomputers is an excellent example of the fact that when India is challenged, she rises to the occasion and delivers. (India was stung by the humiliating restrictions for the supply of Cray computer for weather prediction.)

The Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research's National Aerospace Laboratories has developed the first parallel computer to solve the parallelisation of the Cray-specific GCM T-80 weather prediction code. It became the path-setter for several successful national initiatives in parallel computing.

This year, the Centre for Development of Adavance Computing, celebrating its tenth anniversary, unveiled the PARAM 10000 supercomputer that can perform 100 Giga FLOPS -- that is, hundred thousand million mathematical operations per second. It places India amongst the nations which are advancing the frontiers of supercomputing into the Tera FLOP range (1,000 Giga FLOPS is one Tera FLOPS).

Such technological capability currently exists only with the US and Japan. With PARAM 10000, India has no longer to depend on the availability of high performance supercomputers from the US or elsewhere. Juxtapose this development with India's achievements in space and nuclear energy and one has the emerging contours of a great scientific power.

All these achievements apart, I am concerned at the quality of research produced by our universities and technical institutions and the research publications vis-a-vis international research publications. In 1981 Indian research publications were 2.44 per cent of the world research publications. This has been gradually diminishing and in 1991 it had come down to 1.77 per cent and even less in 1995-96. In 1995-96, 11,084 research papers were published and our share was only 0.1 per cent. This is an area where we have to concentrate and work hard to produce world class researches. The standard of papers published also needs to be considerably improved.

One more important way of interacting with industry is through the medium of continuing education. The rate at which technological innovations are brought into practice implies that an engineer may have to upgrade his skills and knowledge base at least five or six times in this professional career.

I am, therefore, happy to note that apart from running a large number of short duration programmes, the IIT Bombay has conducted selected programmes entailing sustained efforts to meet specific intensive demands of industry. A major manpower upgradation programme entailing weekend instruction spread over two years has been conducted successfully for the Reliance Industries.

In the developed countries, industries have played a crucial role in human resource development. With funds becoming more and more scarce every day, our industrial houses also need to come forward by setting up new institutions and by strengthening existing institutions and universities. They can and should help in a variety of ways by donating equipment and instruments, by setting up new laboratories, by endowing chairs for faculty appointments and by creating student fellowships and scholarships.

More industrial houses should come forward and follow the example set by philanthropic industrialists earlier. The industry must set apart a certain percentage of their turnover for R&D and closely associate not only with the leading institutions but also with the large new work of national laboratories, where excellent scientists and facilities are at hand. We are there to work with them and provide solution to their problems and requirements. In the long run the industry and the nation as a whole will be immensely benefited.

One of the most important things in our present context is to be self-reliant. We have made our scientific and technological progress mostly on our own. The sophisticated technologies do not come without strings, and pressure is built up by the international community if you do not toe their line. We are passing through such an experience.

In spite of advancement in education and our technical skills, a large part of our country remains undeveloped. This is an area that requires the attention of all well placed and qualified citizens.

A large majority of our people still live in rural areas. Their conditions of life are not as conducive and comfortable as we find in the cities. We must take our knowledge of science and technology to the rural areas so that we could device methods by which the life could be made easier for our masses.

Environment and pollution are the areas that require the attention of scientists. Our cultural roots are becoming bare. Our traditional living taught us to take care of the nature and our animal life.

This compassion and sharing is inculcated from the childhood. The neem leaves are still used to preserve food grains and fumes of various herbs used for purifying the atmosphere.

The recent technologies from CSIR laboratories convincingly show that it is not necessary to sacrifice environment for development. Besides the celebrated trinity of achievements, May 11, 1998 witnessed yet another remarkable event: The successful demonstration of eco-friendly, gas fired cupola technology on the foundaries of Agra, which saved them and would save the Taj Mahal. The cokeless cupola technology was developed by the National Metallurgical Laboratory of CSIR for environmentally cleaner fuel (Natural Gas).

It is our duty to do everything to preserve the environment to keep it pure and find new techniques of managing waste and effluents, and where possible, converting the material into manure. We must also take active part in educating the people in its preservation in every way.

On all auspicious occasions our prayers are:

Let there be peace in the entire cosmos,
Let there be peace in the skies,
Let there be peace on earth,
Let there be peace in the waters,
Let there be peace in herbs and vegetation,
Let the divine bring peace to us,
Let all the knowledge bring peace and let everywhere be peace, peace and peace

Try to understand deeply our own cultural heritage and the values of life. Our cultural values are different than the western mindset. Our concept of happiness is different. We say that the righteous way of living is the root of happiness. Wealth is important but it is meant for dharma or righteousness. Dharma, mind you, is not the synonym for religion.

Following the righteous path and way of life leads us to happiness. The wealth is a means to perform righteous duties and happiness is derived out of that. In our country the honour given to a recluse, a sanyasi or a holy person, is much more than that given to a wealthy person or a man in authority. The wealth feels honoured to sit at the feet of a realised soul. This is the difference of basic value system I was referring to.

Dr Murli Manohar Joshi is the Union human resource development minister. This is the text of a speech he delivered at the IIT, Bombay, recently.

The Rediff Specials

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