Politically on parted ways, call for 'scientific temper' brought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on stage together, on Thursday. The PM and Mamata were present at the 100th session of the Indian Science Congress in Kolkata which was inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee.
Stressing on the importance of 'scientific temper', Singh advocated a science-based value-system: “Complex issues, be they genetically modified food or nuclear energy or exploration of outer space, cannot be settled by faith, emotion and fear but by structured debate, analysis and enlightenment. A scientific approach and understanding of these issues are therefore as vital as our core scientific capabilities,” the Prime Minister said. While the PM's address was official in the strictest sense, it did leave people, present at the venue, thinking about the proposed nuclear plant at Haripur in the East Midnapore district of West Bengal. The project has been scrapped by the Mamata government.
Singh's speech also touched upon other issues that are of concern for Mamata's government as well. He mentioned that a sustained four per cent annual agricultural growth is essential for achievement of food security nationally. “This growth is constrained by shortages of water and also of land,” he added. Land, interestingly, remains the most politically sensitive issue in state, ever since Trinamool agitations forced Tata's Nanao car project out of the state.
The Prime Minister further said that scholarship and research should be in sync with economic and social realities. He added that the performance of scientific institutions rests on the “quality of the students we can attract into science”.
In the presence of numerous scientists at the venue, Singh, indirectly, hinted at retention of Indian talent: “We must select only the best and we must expand our search to the many Indian scientists abroad who may wish to return to India at least for some years.” He also released the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2013 that aims at putting India among the top-five scientific powers, globally, by 2020.President Mukherjee, in his inaugural address mentioned the role of technology in progress and development. The direct electronic transfer of benefits to beneficiaries, Aadhaar, will accomplish the target of covering 50 districts, as projected in the current Union budget, President Mukherjee said.