Pynshngainlang N Syiem
LUCKNOW: The 4th India International Science Festival 2018 which begins in the city on October 5, was formally inaugurated by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind in a function held at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan, Lucknow on Saturday .
The inaugural function here was also attended by the Union Minister of Science & Technology, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India Dr Renu Swarup, VIBHA Chairman, Vijay Bhatkar and other dignitaries.
Speaking on the occasion, the President said, “Science has always been a part of Indian culture. Centuries ago, our ancestors were uncovering the secrets of mathematics and the concept of the zero. They were applying the lessons of science in fields of medicine and metallurgy. From the Green Revolution to our space programme to the creation of a thriving biotech and pharmaceutical industry, science has driven our post -1947 modernisation. Today, in the first quarter of the 21st century, in the age of robotics and precision manufacture, of bioinformatics and gene editing, of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Artificial Intelligence, it is time for a quantum jump.”
The President said that the country could not jump without converting science into a mass movement – and without promoting tinkering and innovation as an everyday activity in our labs, our universities and even our schools. Jugaad, cut-paste experiments and frugal innovation have their role. “Even so, if we were to transform India into a middle-income economy and an advanced industrial power, we need to upgrade the engines of knowledge creation. Science and technology are not a mere add-on – their cross-cutting nature and role in every field and in all our flagship programmes and developmental efforts have to be appreciated,” the President said.
The President said that the role of science and scientific innovation in our national developmental agenda was expanding day-by-day. In 2017, patent applications by Indian start-ups rose to 909.
This was a 15-fold increase from the number in 2016 – just 61. In 2018, India’s R&D investments will amount to an appreciable US$ 83.27 billion. The government has announced the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship Scheme. It will promote development through innovation and has a budget of Rs 1,650 crore for seven years beginning 2018-19. These are exciting times for science in India. The resources are now available. It is for our talent pool to respond.
The President pointed to the low participation of women in higher science. He noted that of the 3,446 scientists working at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, only 632 – or 18.3 per cent – were women. He said that in a week when women scientists have won Nobel Prizes for physics and for chemistry, this was a telling statistic. It is a reminder of the scientific potential of our daughters that we were not adequately harnessing. This is both a social and systemic challenge – but it was our collective responsibility to overcome it.