The Hindu Business Line : PM pledges more funds for science and tech

Award for farm scientist: The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, presenting a gold medal to the agricultural scientist, Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, at the 95th Indian Science Congress at Andhra University in Visakhapatnam, on Thursday. Dr. R. Ramamurthi (left), General President of the Indian Science Congress Association, and Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy (right), the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, are also seen. —

Our Bureau

Visakhapatnam, Jan. 3

The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has reiterated his assurance to increase the annual expenditure on science and technology from less than one per cent of GDP at present to 2 per cent in the next five years.

He made the promise in Andhra University here after inaugurating the 95th Indian Science Congress on Thursday. “At the last Science Congress, I gave you my assurance that we are willing to double the expenditure on science and technology. The assurance stands,” he told the delegates.

Dr Singh said a programme would be launched to give science innovation scholarships of Rs 5,000 each to one million students over the next five years and scholarships for higher education, providing 10,000 scholarships per year of Rs 1 lakh apiece, to attract talented students to graduate and post-graduate courses in science.

In general, said the Prime Minister, his Government was committed to more in education, especially science. “The allocation for education has been stepped up from 7.7 per cent of gross budgetary support in the Tenth Plan to over 19 per cent in the Eleventh Plan. We are planning to fund 30 new Central universities, five new Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, eight new IITs, seven new IIMs, and 20 new institutes of information technology,” he said.

Dr Singh promised that annually over 100 lakh students would get vocational training and detailed plans for implementing these proposals would be spelt out in the next six months.

Climate change

Commenting on the main theme of the Science Congress, he said it was quite appropriate as “building up a knowledge-based society using environmentally sustainable science and technology is of great importance. Climate change, in this context, poses the greatest challenge to scientists and technologists in India and abroad.”

He said there should be a global response, a national response and a local response to the complex issue. “At the last G-8 meeting in Heiligendamm, I said India is ready to accept the obligation that our per capita emissions of carbon dioxide should never exceed the per capita emissions of developed countries. This should provide an incentive to the developed nations to achieve quick reductions in their emissions, so that developing nations will also co-operate. Their success will generate technologies which will help us to limit our emissions,” he explained.

Key areas

The Prime Minister listed out five key areas in which eco-friendly technologies should be developed – food production and utilisation, energy generation and utilisation, manufacturing technologies, mass transport systems, and construction technologies. He exhorted the scientists and technologists to focus on these areas.

Second green revolution

Referring to agriculture, he concurred with the views of Dr M.S. Swaminathan that the time had come for a second green revolution or evergreen revolution. Technologies which raise yields, without affecting the soil quality and water quality, should be developed.

The Prime Minister presented awards and medals to outstanding scientists in different fields including Dr. Swaminathan, Prof. M.G.K. Menon, Prof. U.R. Rao, Prof. K.C. Reddy, and three Nobel laureates participating in the Science Congress.

Earlier, Mr Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Science and Technology; Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh; Prof. L. Venugopala Reddy, the Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University, and Prof. R. Ramamurthi, President of the Indian Science Congress Society, also spoke.

Mr Sibal said that a group on climate change adaptation would be set up soon to address the vital issue and a Centre for Climate Change would also be set up, initially to be located within the campus of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology at Pune.

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