let Indian Science Congress meet its mandate
The curtains have been drawn on yet another session of the Indian Science Congress amid some controversy. This year, there has been much ado about one India-born Nobel laureate's adverse opinion of the Congress (even as positive comments by other high-profile participants have been ignored). Also, one cancelled panel discussion, inter-linking religious mythology and environmentalism, received significant media attention, just like last year when one odd-ball session on ancient Indian scientific advancements grabbed all the headlines. Irrespective of how much truth there is to the recent, mostly-critical, reportage of the ISC, one thing should be clear: The ISC is the premier forum for science, and should steer clear of unwanted distractions to stay focused on its core mandate. Established in 1914, the Congress was envisioned as a platform to bring together scientists and researchers from all over the country to share and exchange their works and ideas, which in turn would also promote the cause of science in India. More than a 100 years later, the forum has mostly remained true to its mandate, and must not lose direction. Even if some of the recent negative media reports about the Indian Science Congress are politically motivated, as many impartial observers seem to believe, there is also no doubt that ISC organisers need to pull up their socks. Apart from ensuring that the forum remains free from politics, they must also not let its primary purpose be diluted. Keep in mind that the ISC isn't a typical science conference meant to further individual research and growth. For that kind of gain, scientists attend specialist conferences. Instead, the ISC is a multi-disciplinary forum designed to offer a panoramic view of how Indian science as a whole is progressing, and also to communicate that message to the masses. The latter includes, for example, engaging with policymakers on science-related issues and encouraging aspiring young scientists. It is in this regard that the ISC organisers can surely do a better job.
That said, the ISC, which has a wide-angle lens, should not be viewed in isolation. An important factor to take into consideration here is the amount of support that it receives from the Government, and how much the latter invests in science in general. Here again, there is scope for improvement. Even though the Government's expenditure on research and development activities has steadily increased over the years, the country's spending is still paltry — not only is it a far cry from that of technology leaders like Japan, South Korea, the US and Israel, whose spending (as a percentage of their GDP) is three to four times that of India's, it is also lower than all its emerging powerhouse peers at the Brics club. Worse still, over the last few years, funding has stagnated. In 2015, for example, the Budget allocated larger resources to some departments and agencies while it slashed monies elsewhere. Hopefully, the Government will make some course corrections here. Its flagship project to make India a manufacturing hub will fall flat on the face, with the country becoming a global sweatshop, unless there is genuine progress, of the sort that our space programme has achieved, for instance, in indigenous science and technology.