Expectations that india will become a major economic power in the next two or three decades are not entirely fanciful. Certainly there is hope within the country’s scientific community and general public, that India can become a global leader in science. But for this dream to be realised, it is imperative that India becomes a knowledge power, particularly in science, within the next few years. Only if this pre-condition is satisfied, and this nation becomes a centre of technological innovation, will this ambition be fulfilled.
But even though our goals are ambitious and sights are set high, the education scenario in the country is discour-aging. We don’t have any universities — decayed due to years of neglect — ranked among the top 50 or 100 in the world. Even our leading research institutions don’t compare well with the best elsewhere, and in most areas of science and technology, Indian academia boasts few real experts. There is a severe leadership crisis in academia and the prospect of producing young science leaders is dim.
At the same time, competition from other countries, especially our Asian neighbours, is intensifying. South Korea and China have made enormous investments in science in the past few years, not only in terms of funding but also by way of creating large pools of science and technology manpower. Conv-ersely, the performance of Indian academia and resear-chers in terms of the number of Ph Ds and scientific research papers published, is way below par and suffers in comparison with leading Asian countries.
In this connection it’s pertinent to note that India contributes only 2.5 percent of the world’s science and technology content, and only 0.5 percent of cutting edge research. In the next 10-15 years, we should try to reach a level where the top 10 percent of the best science and technology research is contributed by Indian academia and research institutions.
To attain this goal over the next two decades or so, it’s crucial to improve the quality of our higher education institutions in all respects, particularly colleges and universities focused on science education and research. As recommended by the Kothari Commission way back in 1966, the annual outlay for education (Centre plus states) has to be increased to 6 percent of GDP to ensure that we have a large number of high-quality schools and colleges, and our universities become fountains of knowledge producing high-quality science graduates. Through offering better pay, perquisites and improved working conditions, attracting the best graduates into teaching should become a national priority of the next decade. In this transformation of the nation’s education landscape, universities and Indian academics have a large role to play. They should take direct action to improve the quality of education dispensed by schools and colleges in their neighbourhoods.
An important change required in the national mindset is awareness that real progress in science is driven by small projects and research conducted by lone scientists or small groups of scientists working in modest laboratories. Because of the national preoccupation with massive state-funded laboratories, small science projects and initiatives have not received support all these years. Advancement of science and technology requires that support and encouragement is also given to small centres of excellence promoted by outstanding scientists engaged in focused research. Such centres enable young people to work in frontier areas of science and technology. Moreover opportunities for young people to work in critical areas in leading laboratories abroad should also be seized, so that national manpower needs are met to tackle serious problems confronting the Indian economy.
It’s also important to understand that the relatively poor performance of Indian academia and research institutions is not so much due to paucity of funding as to unconducive environments for innovation and creative work. A major challenge confronting India’s universities and research institutions is creating enabling conditions for innovation and creativity to blossom, so that scientists are able to give their best while focusing on national problems requiring resolution. Moreover private sector industry also has a major role to play in achieving this objective. Indeed it is necessary that society as a whole cooperates in eliminating mediocrity from all spheres of life, as also in creating an environment in which scholarship and science get due respect. Most important, bureaucracy in science administration needs to be eliminated. We have to find new ways of supervising science, and this may require changing the structure of our universities as also their administrative and auditing practices.
While the state of Indian academia is discouraging, there is every possibility and cause for hope that India will emerge as a scientific power in the next two decades, provided Indian society — especially the middle class — adopts a scientific and rational temper and supports the pursuit of excellence in education and science. Politicians, administrators and the public need to develop interest and love of science, and ensure that science research and innovation is celebrated and rewarded in the nation’s value system.
(Dr. C.N.R. Rao is a distinguished scientist and chairman of the Science Advisory Council to the prime minister)