National Science Day 2020 | PM Hails Talent of Indian Scientists 

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday saluted the talent and tenacity of Indian scientists on the National Science Day. "Their innovative zeal and pioneering research has helped India and the world," Modi wrote on Twitter.

"May Indian science continue to thrive and may our young minds develop even greater curiosity towards science," he said. "National Science Day is an occasion to salute the talent and tenacity of our scientists," the prime minister added.

India's women scientists stress on better support, fair policies in research

As the country marks the National Science Day on Friday, many leading Indian women scientists have stressed on the need for the right kind of support, equality, and gender-fair policies in the field of research.

Noting that a career in science is a demanding and tough option, Rupamanjari Ghosh, Vice-Chancellor, Shiv Nadar University, Greater Noida said there are additional barriers -- often unintentional and unconscious ones -- which are put up along the career path of women in science.

G Geetha, Professor and Head, Division of Research and Development at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Punjab, emphasised on closing the gender gap, and moving towards women-led projects in science. She noted that out of the 560 awardees of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, only 18 recipients have been women. The prize is one of the highest multidisciplinary science awards in India. According to Geetha, women represent only about a fifth of senior authors in all published research.

Professor Manjula Reddy, Chief Scientist, Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad believes that science in India is progressing at a rapid pace since the last decade, thanks to the focus and initiatives on education and research. "Setting up new educational and research institutions across India has contributed to this cause,” she said.

However, Reddy, who won the Infosys Prize 2019, thinks India is lagging behind in basic sciences as compared to developed countries, and needs to make serious efforts to fill the gap."This can be achieved with structured funding, more focus on education and research activities. "Basic research is a developmental activity; it may not have immediate tangible benefit, but has long-term sustainability and is the bedrock for future technological advances," she explained.

Gagandeep Kang, Professor in the Department of Gastrointestinal Sciences at the Christian Medical College in Tamil Nadu believes that there is a lot of work to be done to build an understanding of the process and outputs of science -- a spirit of inquiry, and a deep trust in science and scientists.

"As scientists, some are doing reasonably well in many fields, but there are many areas where both quality people and skills are limited or lacking," said Kang, who was awarded the prestigious Infosys Prize in Life Sciences in 2016. Kang feels India does not have sufficient researchers working across various disciplines.

"That means we are unable to grow up to global standards, and there are few areas that I am aware of where an Indian group is among the world leaders," she added. (PTI)

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