ROLE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FOR NATIONAL

DEVELOPMENT
It is indeed a great honour and privilege for me to be standing in front of
you and deliver this lecture. To be delivering a lecture in a college that
has in its alumni list eminent scientists like Dr. Samuel Mathews, Chief
cardiologist of Apollo hospital, Chennai, Dr. Hiremath, Scientist at the
Colorado university, Dr. Joseph Fernandes, Advisor to the energy
department of USA to name just a few fills me with great sense of
pride. To be associated with this institute which was inaugurated by the
great son of India and Nobel Laureate Sir C V Raman, to be standing on
the same soil where once Sir C V Raman stood fills me with emotions that
are hard to express. You, who are studying or teaching in this same
institute, are truly blessed souls and I bow down in front of you all as a
mark of respect, for you are the torch bearers of the tradition inaugurated
by Sir C V Raman.
Today, I have been invited to talk on the topic Role of Science and
Technology in National development particularly in the context of our
beloved country.
Let me start by giving you my understanding of what is science and what
is national development. Science is the intellectual and practical activity
encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the
physical and natural world through observation and experiment. India has
a great tradition in contribution to science. Our advances in astronomy,
calculations based on position of constellations, navigation through the
seas following the stars have been well documented and are world
renowned. Indian advances in medicine and surgery, knowledge of human
anatomy as enunciated by Shusrutha and Charaka have formed the basis
for advancements in these fields and have been widely acknowledged.
Indias singular contribution Zero or the Shunya without which no

advancement in science and technology would have been possible speaks

volumes for the creative and innovative ability of Indians.
National development is when each and every citizen of the country has
an equal opportunity to realize his full and true potential and having
realized his own potential, contributes with all he or she can for the
nations progress.
Going by these definitions, how do we measure the contribution of science
and technology for national development? How is it that in spite of the
early advancements in science and technology, we are not a developed
nation yet? This again leads to two pertinent questions. Where and when
did we lose our scientific temper and our ability to innovate and do we
still have that fire burning within us? And Does science & scientists
contribute to national development? In this lecture, I will try to answer
these questions to the best of my knowledge.
Let us start first with when and where did we lose our ability to innovate.
In spite of its rich contributions to science, it was during the period of
British that Indian scientific contribution and temper got quelled. Also the
long period of scientific inactivity due in part to our struggle for freedom,
the change from traditional education to modern English education, the
dogmas and rigidity that had set in, lack of incentives and investments all
contributed to a significant reduction to the contribution to science and
technology from India and backwardness set in. Credit should be given to
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru the first prime minister, who by his vision gave a
strong impetus to Science and Technology and the building of Industries
in Independent India. It is solely due to this visionary, and the adoption of
modern technologies with an open mind that we have now started
regaining what we lost over a couple of centuries under the British rule.
Now, let us take a look at the contribution of science. Civilization started
with the taming of fire and mans ability to produce and sustain fire. Since
then, there have been many eras - some very disturbing times too but

science and technology have marched on and on and on and it is this

relentless march, that has brought civilization as we know it today.
From basic sciences knowing that when you drop an object, it will fall to
earth is by gravity, need of sunlight and water for growing of crops,
developments that has improved yield per acre of soil cultivated to
advanced technologies in the field of space and atomic energy, science
has brought forth transformation in lives which is hard to imagine
without. The contribution of science and technology are not visible
immediately the day an innovation happens. It might take time
occasionally even decades before its full potential is realized. When
Faraday invented the magnetic induction, it was ridiculed as something
absolutely useless. But today, there is no life without electricity which is
produced by the application of the same principle of magnetic induction as
propounded by Faraday. The effect of electricity and the development that
it brought forth across generations and across the globe needs no
describing. When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, it was
just an instrument by which you can communicate at a distance and its
potential was not realized. Even Mr. Bell considered his instrument to be
an intrusion in his work and refused to have it in his room. But today,
communication through satellite phones and mobile phones has brought
immense wealth to the masses. It is because of this simple device that
today a trader in Belgaum can access the markets in Bengal or you can
know about the well being of your near and dear across the globe.
What I have spoken about is just the tip of an iceberg just a glimpse of
what lies beneath. Speak of science and its contribution can never be
complete and will be limited only by our own understanding.
Such being the case, You might wonder why business tycoons, politicians
and social workers are the ones who normally receive accolades for their
contribution and the work of scientists hardly find a place in a cramped
corner of our morning newspapers. When Sir C V Raman, propounded his

theory now called Raman effect or Raman Scattering who would have
understood it except for a few amongst the scientific community? Little
did people realize at that time the utilization of Raman scattering in
spectroscopy in the industry for identification of materials
rials and substances
including liquids. With due respect, It would not be farfetched, if I say
that while social workers touch and transform lives of thousands in their
own generation, and bring about transformation in the near term, it is
only the scientists
sts with their ability to invent, and the technologists with
their applications of the fundamentals of science who can bring about
transformation and upliftment
ment of a nation with their work.
To drive home the point, let us see a simple model.

Source: 10th Zuckerman Memorial Lecture on Nation Building through Science & Technology A Developing World Perspective by Dr.
Mashelkar, Director General of CSIR india

The developed nations are on the upper right hand corner. The
These nations
are not blessed with natural resources. Their
heir economic clout has come
solely from their indigenous capability in science and techno
technology.
Interestingly, while countries like India and china has a large scientific
community and high indigenous science capability,
capability, we are still considered
as only developing nations. Why?
The answer lies in the application of science and technology. For science
and technology to thrive in a nation, three components are needed.
1. Investments

2. Conducive policy from the government

3. Vision
Let me explain.
Take the example of Indian space program or the nuclear power program.
It had very humble origins. Indian space program, as you all know started
in a small shed in Trivandrum & with the launching of sounding rockets
transported in bicycles from the beaches of Kerala. The nuclear power
program was launched way back in 1954 with the formation of atomic
energy commission to undertake research in the nuclear technology.
Investments and support from the government of India in these two
sectors have been steady through the decades. What have we achieved?
From

building

the

cheapest

Interplanetary

mission-Mangalyan

to

Geostationary satellites that beam programs in the TV sets at home, to

communication through your mobile phones, to remote sensing and
weather prediction, education to people living in the remotest corners of
our nation, all have been possible because of these investment in the
space program. From a time when Indian satellites were launched from
foreign soil, today, we launch foreign satellites from Indian soil in Indian
rockets. The nuclear power program started with imported reactors from
GE and AECL Canada at TAPS and RAPS. However, we now have the
indigenous capability to design, construct and operate any type of reactor
of any size. That is a huge achievement considering that we live in a
technology denial regime and there is virtually no or little support in these
areas from abroad. The department of atomic energy has not just built
nuclear reactors but has contributed in many other fields. From the XRay/CT scan machines which the medical profession relies on for all
diagnostics, to preservation of agricultural produce by improving their
shelf lives, the benefits have been numerous. These have come because
of the investment made in these fields and the vision of our founding
fathers. I can recall here, the words of our ex-president Dr. Abdul Kalam.
From space technology, they used the carbon-carbon composite material

which is both strong and very light to create a prosthetic limb a calliper
whose weight was just 20% of what it was before. Imagine the joy that a
polio affected child carrying a calliper of about 5-6Kg felt when the burden
on his/her foot was reduced. These are called spin-off technologies. High
technology for the common man! DAE has transferred numerous such
spin-off technologies to the industry. From membrane filters that leave
zero bacteria in the drinking water - dead or alive to waste treatment
facilities that produce composts that aid in organic farming, the list is
large to produce here. I am sure that large scale adoption of these
technologies is the need of the hour.
Policy also plays an important role in the application of science and
technology. A policy environment influences the innovative capacity of the
firms, society and indeed that of the nation as a whole. It was a British
Morris Oxford car that was sold as the Indian Ambassador on Indian
roads. Today, it is the Indian car (Indica), entirely designed and built in
India that is sold as City Rover in London Roads. It was not until
liberalization in the 90s and the resultant policy change that this could be
achieved. When in 1993, with change in government policy, Ratan Tata
gave the challenge of designing the first Indian Car to his 700 engineers
at TELCO, little would he have imagined that the resultant product would
soon become the best seller in the country and abroad. The ability to
design a car was always there amongst his engineers but got expressed
only when there was conducive policy environment. Creativity gets
nurtured in a flexible, competitive and dynamic economic environment. In
a developing country like ours it means building on reforms that
emphasizes openness to new ideas, new products and new investments.
The last component required is the vision of the national leaders. Space
and nuclear fields in India could not have grown to what it is today had it
not been for the vision of its founding fathers and the leaders of this
nation who placed their faith. It is largely owing to the support that these
organizations received from the national leaders during some of the most

difficult times that they have grown to such respected organization. It is

because of the dedicated work done by these organizations that the
nation is in a position to negotiate with developed countries in its own
terms and conditions.
So the way forward is in creating a climate that invests in technology and
in human capital. Expanding human skills to meet the challenge of
relentless march and technological changes becomes critical for any
significant advancement to take place. Advanced skills developed in
schools and colleges become very vital. For companies to be remain
competitive and productive, massive investment in building and nurturing
of human capital assumes significance.
We may conclude that only investment in science and technology can help
a nation achieve greatness and help elevate the masses. The simple
mobile handset which now adorns the hand of every person rich or poor
has also become a potent educational tools because of the power of the
internet and this I am sure is going to aid in our country improving the
literacy levels in the forthcoming decade.
I implore all you students of science to keep the flame of scientific temper
and innovation burning bright. Keep innovating and keep publishing all
that you have found out no matter how big or how small the innovation
for your never know the power of it. Your little innovations may, as of
today have little significance but in the hands of future generations might
transform whole societies. Feel proud that you have chosen the path of
reason and science for in your hands lies the future of the nation and with
it the dream of making our country a developed country a country
where ideas flow freely a country where dreams are realized

- a

country where economic prosperity go hand in hand with scientific temper

- a country where every individual gets opportunity to live up to his
potential let me call upon all of you to strive to take our nation towards

that heaven of freedom and let me rest with the prayer that the almighty
give you the strength to realize and live this dream.
Thank you.