Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Indian Government should encourage our Scientists' that was published in Newsband

Indian Government should encourage our Scientists

The Science and Technology Ministry has directed all laboratories under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to begin “self-financing” their research. This flags serious concerns about the priorities and the ideological agenda the government is bringing to bear on the scientific community. This speaks of BJP-led government’s failures to support science and the Sangh Parivar’s ideological assault on reason and scientific temper.

Whenever scientific data become inconvenient for the government, it has no qualms in suppressing the research. The CSIR is the backbone of scientific and technological research. Expecting researchers to fund themselves with help from industry and setting “deliverable targets” is unreasonable

It is true that accountability is important for everyone, whether scientists, teachers, clerks and politicians. Certain fields need protection such as theoretical physics, astrophysics which are rarely 'profitable' in short periods of time. However, it is partly a fact that majority of the Indian scientists are "wasting public funds". Scientists should generate their own funds is a good idea but not for all scientists. Once again, accountability is very important for everyone. However, exceptions and the terms of productivity needs to be and can be defined for the majority. However, mixing science and politics is bad.

Funding scientific organization which are not commercially viable is not a good idea except in those organization which have social responsibility and for whom profit is not the ultimate goal. Government should increase fund to those scientific institution which have paid back to the country.

One can also ask as to what is the potential benefit of our Netas, who survive on our Taxes. Are they profit making for country? Are they beneficial to the Country? Do they have a good Track Record?

A certain source revealed that the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has been directed to generate half of its funds and start sending report cards to the Centre on how “each of the laboratory [is] focusing its resources on developing specific lines of inventions which would contribute to the social and economic objectives of the Narendra Modi government for the poor and the common man. An effort is being made to make the CSIR labs more responsive to needs and more productive. If this is the case then let’s not give RSS linkage to every decision to disparage it. Moreover there is nothing wrong in telling the labs to be focussed on the social and economic needs of the government which has got its mandate from the people. Labs have been asked to rely on themselves for half their needs. They need not tie up with private sector for it, they could lead innovation and private sector will also come to them.

The last thing is whether the grievance of RSS that all our scientific and technical achievements in the past described in various Sanskrit literature were all taken away by America, Europe and more particularly Germany and that they have prospered on this borrowed intelligence while leaving India in the morass of religious rituals is true?