in mission mode

The stage for developing a robust science and technology infrastructure existed even before India became free in 1947. Has Indian science been provided the resources and opportunities to live up to its potential?

Dinesh C Sharma Delhi

The journey of Indian science and technology has been exciting in the post-independence era. The stage for developing a robust science and technology infrastructure was ready much before the country became free in 1947. Jawaharlal Nehru had involved leading scientists in the National Planning Committee that the Indian National Congress set up in 1938. This helped him develop close relationships with leading scientists such as Prasant Chandra Mahalanobis, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar and Homi Bhabha. Bhatnagar was the head of the Board of Scientific and Industrial Research established during the British period. This organisation became the nucleus for the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) as well as the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) in free India. And from the atomic energy centre was born the space programme. Thus, three of India's leading scientific research bodies — CSIR, DAE and (Indian Space Research Organisation) ISRO — have a common lineage.

Science and technology in the Nehru era grew largely due to Nehru's deep interest and commitment to science. But the direction this field took was guided by the top scientists surrounding him. Mahalanobis, Bhatnagar and Bhabha can be called the troika of Indian science during the Nehru era. Policies and funding decisions related to science and technology during this period were influenced by the three. Nehru nurtured the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), set up by Mahalanobis, much before independence, and gave Mahalanobis a leading role to play in the planning process in free India. Bhatnagar, too, was given the support he needed to establish a number of laboratories under CSIR within a short period — a phenomenon dubbed by C V Raman the 'Nehru-Bhatnagar effect' (like the Raman Effect which won him the Physics Nobel Prize in 1930). Similarly, the DAE, under Bhabha, also got necessary funding and support to lay the foundation of an indigenous programme in atomic energy development. Nehru gave scientist-administrators the powers of civil servants — a tradition that continues in Indian science and technology departments even now.

However, there was a notable exception. The Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), the oldest research council in the country, did not get the same treatment as research conglomerates headed by Bhabha and Bhatnagar. The ICAR continued to be an organisation appended to the ministry of agriculture. This changed only when Lal Bahadur Shastri became prime minister. C Subramaniam, agriculture minister in Shastri's cabinet, reorganised agriculture research in 1965-66 and appointed plant breeder Benjamin Peary Pal, as the first scientist head of the ICAR. These changes played a critical role in ushering in the wheat revolution, popularly known as the Green Revolution, perhaps the most successful science and technology story of independent India. Wheat production, which had remained stagnant despite better irrigation and other inputs, jumped up significantly following the introduction of high yield variety plants. Wheat production in 1968 grew to 17 million tonnes, compared with about six million tonnes in 1947. Since then, there has been no looking back for Indian agriculture. The wheat revolution was a classic case of using science, backed by political support and a machinery to disseminate new technologies for the benefit of the country and its people.

Like agricultural production, milk production, too, was stagnant in the first two decades after independence, despite the country having one of the largest livestock populations in the world. A series of technological breakthroughs, such as development of milk powder from buffalo milk (it was made only from cow milk before), artificial insemination, and development of vaccines for common diseases helped increase milk production and develop a viable dairy industry. Producing and collecting milk from farmer cooperatives in rural areas, processing it and sending it to urban areas, led to the dairy revolution (also known as the White Revolution). The government launched a massive dairy development programme, popularly known as Operation Flood, in 1971. Again, it was a combination of science and technology inputs, involvement of communities, and full political support that fuelled the white revolution. This happened during Indira Gandhi's tenure as prime minister.

Yet another significant attempt to connect science and technology with the people was made by Rajiv Gandhi in the mid-1980s. Indian scientists deliver best when they work in mission mode, as exemplified by the success of scientific agencies in missions related to space and atomic energy. Rajiv Gandhi, therefore, launched technology missions to tackle societal issues such as drinking water, immunisation, adult literacy, self-sufficiency in edible oils, and improvement of telecommunication networks. Attempts were made to galvanise the government machinery and to address the problems by breaking down each mission into specific tasks. For instance, the drinking-water mission was aimed at providing safe drinking water to 1,60,000 problem villages by 1990. This was to be achieved through a number of measures such as using standards for location, installation and operation of tube wells; improving traditional conservation structures; setting up desalination and defluoridation plants; and using satellite imagery to prepare groundwater maps for each district.

One of the shining examples of technological development and dissemination in free India is the rural telephone exchanges developed by a newly created entity, the Centre for Development of Telematics (CDOT), in 1980s. The 'ruggedised' telephone exchange helped take telecom services to rural areas and reduced dependence on foreign technology. Yet again, the CDOT exchange demonstrated that Indian scientists and technologists can deliver when challenged and provided necessary support to achieve specific goals. It is a different matter that the political support was short-lived and not sustainable. It was partly because of stiff resistance to the new technology posed by well-entrenched vested interests within the government.

The 1990s posed new challenges to Indian science and technology. The economic liberalisation policies that were ushered in in July 1992, opened up the gates for foreign capital as well as foreign technology. There was pressure on state-run research laboratories to become market-friendly and get a chunk of their revenues through contract research and sponsored work from industry. At the same time, it became imperative for Indian industry to upgrade its technology in order to remain competitive in a globalised scenario. This gave birth to new private-public partnership programmes such as the New India Millennium Technology Initiative. It has resulted in the development of new technologies jointly by industry and research labs. A new tuberculosis drug, Sudoterb, is the result of this new partnership.

While India's achievements in space, atomic energy, agriculture and dairy research, and information technology have been notable, areas of concern remain as we enter the seventh decade of independence. New diseases are emerging even as forgotten ones are staging a comeback. Vast population continues to suffer due to shortage of safe drinking water, and lack of education facilities and electricity. The quality of science education is on the decline. China produces a far greater number of doctorates in science and engineering than India. Premier scientific agencies are finding it difficult to attract talent for conducting research, as the cream is lured away to competing sectors like information technology, financial services and management. So, the challenges are on two fronts — retaining the competitive edge in a global market, and trying to find solutions to Indian problems. The country needs to focus on basic research, improve its science education at all levels, nurture innovation at different levels, and use scientific knowledge and research to tackle basic problems of energy, food security, drinking water, and sanitation. Perhaps we need to get into mission mode once again…