NEW INDIA IS MOVING FORWARD WITH JAI JAWAN, JAI KISAN, JAI VIGYAN AS WELL AS JAI ANUSANDHAN

Science is like that energy in the development of 21st century India, which has the potential to accelerate the development of every region and every state. At a time when India is on the verge of leading the fourth industrial revolution, the role of India’s science and people associated with this field is very important. In such a situation, the responsibility of the policy-makers and those of us who are associated with governance and administration increases. I hope this brainstorming session in the Science City of Ahmedabad will give you new inspiration and will fill you with enthusiasm to encourage science. It is mentioned in our scriptures - That is, when there is amalgamation of knowledge and science, With this inspiration, today’s new India is moving forward with the call of Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan and Jai Anusandhan.

There is an important aspect of the past to which I would like to draw your attention. That lesson from history will go a long way in shaping the future for both the Center and the states. If we remember the early decades of the last century, we find how the world was going through a period of devastation and tragedy. But even at that time, scientists everywhere, whether in the East or the West, were engaged in their significant discoveries. In the West, many such scientists like Einstein, Fermi, Max Planck, Niels Bohr and Tesla were surprising the world with their experiments. In the same period, countless Indian scientists like CV Raman, Jagadish Chandra Bose, Satyendra Nath Bose, Meghnad Saha, S Chandrashekhar, among others, were coming forward with their new discoveries. All these scientists opened many avenues to improve the future. But a major difference between East and West was that we did not celebrate the work of our scientists as much as it should have been done. As a result, a sense of indifference developed in a large part of our society regarding science.

One thing we must remember is that when we celebrate art, we also inspire and create more new artists. When we celebrate sports, we inspire and create new players as well. Similarly, when we celebrate the achievements of our scientists, science becomes a natural part of our society and it becomes a part of culture. Therefore, today I urge all the people who have come from all the states to celebrate and glorify the achievements of the scientists of our country. At every step, the scientists of our country are also giving us this opportunity through their discoveries. If India has been able to develop vaccines for corona and has been able to administer more than 200 crore vaccine doses, there is a huge potential of our scientists behind it. Similarly, today the scientists of India are doing wonders in every field. By celebrating every small and big achievement of scientists of India, the aptitude that will develop towards science in the country will help us a lot in this ‘Amrit Kaal’.

I am happy that our government is moving ahead with the science-based development approach. Since 2014, there has been a substantial increase in investment in the field of science and technology. Due to the efforts of the government, India is ranked 46th in the Global Innovation Index today, whereas India was at 81 position in 2015. We have covered the distance from 81 to 46 in such a short time, but we do not have to stop here, we have to aim higher now. Today a record number of patents are being granted in India and new innovations are taking place. You can see that today so many start-ups from the field of science are attending this conclave. The wave of start-ups in the country is telling us about how fast the change is coming. There are many national level scientific institutes and laboratories in the states. The states should take full advantage of their ability and expertise. We also have to take our science related institutions out of the state of silos. Optimum utilization of all scientific institutions is equally necessary for better utilization of the state’s potential and resources. You should also increase the number of such programs in your states which take science and technology forward at the grassroots level. But we also have to keep one thing in mind. For example, science festivals are held in many states but it is also true that many schools do not participate in it. We should find the reasons and make more schools part of such science festivals.