The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘Bangalore must remain science capital’

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Friday, Aug 24, 2007
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‘Bangalore must remain science capital’

Staff Reporter

India has to step up its contribution to world science, says scientist C.N.R. Rao

India’s contribution to world science is just 2.7 per cent
Only 4,000 Ph.Ds awarded in India in 2006

— Photo: K. Gopinathan

Promoting science: Scientist C.N.R. Rao, chairman of the Legislative Council B.K. Chandrashekar, President, Karnataka Science and Technology Academy U.R. Rao and Minister for Science and Technology Ramachandra Gowda at a conference on ‘Development of science and technology — Its past, present and future,’ in Bangalore on Thursday.

Bangalore: “Bangalore is the science capital of India, not the information technology capital as it has come to be known,” asserted C.N.R. Rao, honorary president of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research.

Speaking at the inauguration of a seminar on science and technology organised by the Karnataka Science and Technology Academy (KSTA) here on Thursday, Prof. Rao said that in order to preserve its position as a science centre, India had to step up its contribution to world science.

“This year, India’s contribution to world science, in terms of Ph.Ds, research papers and university contributions, was just 2.7 per cent. And sadly, quality does not make up for dwindling quantity either. For instance, of the top one per cent of papers published, only 0.5 per cent comes from India,” he said.

Resurgence in Asia

Prof. Rao added that the much-lauded resurgence of Asia in the area of science “owes itself to South Korea, Singapore and China, not to India.” Citing one of the reasons for this being the “slow death” of universities that are being starved of resources, he said: “Three decades ago universities produced 60 per cent of the country’s research, and now their contribution is only 10 per cent.”

The number of Ph.Ds awarded in 2006 in India was an abysmal 4,000 — exactly the number it was 25 years ago, he said, whereas in China, in the span of 25 years the number went up from 500 to 16,000. He added that Chinese research papers were also “flooding” reputed journals.

On a more wistful note, Prof. Rao added that science had “nothing to do with the government and research grants — it is about fulfilling a creative urge.”

Some of his most outstanding teachers were underpaid, but that never came in the way of their commitment to the discipline.

Initiatives hailed

KSTA Chairman U.R. Rao spoke in appreciation of the initiatives of the academy and said that science and technology should be taken to rural India.

“Sixty-five per cent of our population contributes to 20 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product. This has to do with agricultural productivity, which is as low as 1.7 tonnes per hectare,” he said.

The two eminent scientists were felicitated by the academy.

Shortage of teachers

Minister for Science and Technology Ramachandra Gowda said that he feared there would be a shortage of teachers for basic science in the near future and added that “seminars such as this one are important to keep the youth interested in the subject.”

The academy also launched its website on the occasion, kstacademy.org.

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