Noting that the industry was yet to contribute a significant amount on research in the country, eminent scientist and Bharat Ratna awardee C N R Rao today said at least 30-40 per cent of the share of scientific work must be borne by the industry.
Addressing the 103rd Indian Science Congress, Rao said with the right investment from both industry and government, dedicated hard work of the scientific community and a society with scientific temper, nothing can prevent India from being on top of the world in about 10-15 years.
Noting that all the money for science and technology comes from government, he said "our industry is yet to contribute a significant amount on research."
"We cannot go on blaming the government asking them for more money or land... At least 30-40 per cent of the share of scientific work in India must be borne by industry," he added.
Delivering Bharat Ratna Sir M Vishveshwarya lecture on 'Doing Science in India' at the event after the inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said no democratic country of the size of India has ever faced the challenges of India, but we can still do it.
"In spite of a large number of institutions, India is not doing as well in terms of the amount of scientific research that comes out of the country," he said as he expressed worry about its quality.
Rao said India will have to first invest in education to improve the quality of research in the country."Our investment in education is just 2 per cent of the GDP of which hardly 0.4 per cent is for higher education...," he said.
"Unless we improve our science and technology institutions how can we ever come up with startup companies, innovations. All those have to come from these institutions."
Stating that he represented "small science", Rao complained that most of the money for science in the country goes to "big science", referring to atomic energy and space science.
"...I appeal to our Prime Minister, appeal to our Finance Minister, unless you support small science in India, I don't see how India will prosper...," he said.
He said, "...15 to 20 years if we don't progress and get on to the top of the world we will lose, because world will change. So we have to do it soon.
The nuclear establishment is working hard to ensure that
the unit-2 of the 1,000 MW nuclear reactor at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu becomes operational. The really big event for the year could be turning on of the 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu.
This would mark the coming of age of the second stage of India's ambitious atomic energy program. The PFBR, a novel Indian design, has been in the making for more than a decade and runs mostly on plutonium fuel but interestingly it breeds more fuel than it consumes.
A technological marvel, this reactor uses liquid sodium as a coolant, which makes the technology inherently risky. But having run a Fast Breeder Test Reactor for the last three decades the nuclear engineers are gearing up to shake the world by commissioning this mega machine in the middle of the year.
Only Russia has a similar reactor operating in the world. Made at a cost of about Rs 6,000 crore, some say it will produce very expensive electricity but the Department of Atomic Energy says if it succeeds, similar reactors could provide clean carbon free sustainable power to India for the next 200-300 years.
On the military side, the Indian atomic program could see the induction of India's maiden nuclear powered submarine, the INS Arihant, into the Indian Navy. Capable of carrying nuclear weapons this unique under water platform gives India the all-important second strike capability in case of a nuclear attack by an adversary.
To overcome the chronic shortage of edible oils, Indian scientists have developed a genetically modified (GM) variety of mustard. The development is stuck in the long-winded regulatory mechanism for GM products.
Indian scientists are hoping that with the launch of the new 'National Biotechnology Development Strategy 2015-2020' a green flag could be given for the introduction of genetically modified mustard which could then become the first GM food crop to be embraced by the country.
High in the cold desert of Ladakh, India has been slowly constructing a giant telescope called Major Atmospheric Cerenkov Experiment Telescope (MACE), this specialised eye will view the universe using Gamma Rays and will be the second largest of its kind in the world but ideally placed in the world's highest observatory at Hanle perched at 4500 m above sea level. The Electronic Corporation of India Limited is building this 24-m diameter telescope.
The year is also likely to witness the launch of the now famous 'SAARC Satellite' the launch date for which has already been almost fixed for December 8, 2016, the anniversary of the setting up of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
Using the Global Positioning System (GPS) the exact
location of the person who is in distress can be automatically pin pointed. The battery-powered device sends up a signal, which can then be automatically tracked at ground stations in Lucknow and Bengaluru. If only Lance Naik Hanumanthappa were carrying this device his rescue could have been greatly speeded up.
A similar but slightly larger device has been made by VSSC for use by fishermen. This can be fitted on the fishing boats and can be triggered manually or when it encounters salt water it gets triggered. This device transmits a pulsed signal in the 406 MHz band and can help in locating ships lost at sea.
The batteries are robust enough to transmit a signal for at least 65 hours at a stretch. ISRO has helped save the lives of many trekkers in the Himalayas and is eager to help the Indian Armed Forces in case they seek to use the device at the remote locations in times of emergency.
Ensuring uninterrupted maintenance-free power supply at remote locations is a nightmare for technologists, now the scientists at VSSC have made a portable fuel cell system that can produce electricity directly from fuel through an electrochemical process where the only inputs needed are hydrogen gas and air.
Based on the 'proton exchange membrane' technology the gadget made at VSSC can generate up to about 100 watts of power. This is like lighting a single bulb but then there are several small devices that need only a small amount of power for it to work round the clock. An all-weather automatic weather station powered using this indigenously made fuel cell is currently being tested at Dehradun.
Another digital GPS device has been deployed at the Gangotri Glacier to see how this hydrogen powered device works at high altitudes. There are also plans to use the sophisticated G-SAT-6 satellite's multimedia communication capability to deploy surveillance systems in remote locations from where Pakistani infiltrators creep into Indian territory and make devastating terrorist attacks on India.
Such automatic remotely operated cameras could be powered using the maintenance free 'fuel cells' and then they could beam pictures up to the Indian satellites through which soldiers could maintain a 24x7 vigil from far away, this would be akin to having closed circuit television cameras (CCTV) but in places where there is neither power supply nor continuous human presence.
Sivan says suitable industrial partners are being actively identified and the technologies will transferred so that so called 'rocket science' no longer remains rocket science. More importantly he says 'desi technology' can be used to power the 'Make in India' effort and help save lives.
