UPSC CSE – SYLLABUS: GENERAL STUDIES-3- Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
Scientific Research Initiatives
India is one of the top-ranking countries in the field of basic research. Indian Science has come to be regarded as one of the most powerful instruments of growth and development, especially in the emerging scenario and competitive economy.
In the wake of the recent developments and the new demands that are being placed on the system, it is necessary for us to embark on some major science projects which have relevance to national needs and which will also be relevant for tomorrow’s technology.
Government initiatives:
The government through the Department of science and Technology has been undertaking may initiatives to boost scientific research in the nation.
Some important initiatives are
- The Swarnajayanti fellowship: A fellowships under which a selected number of young scientists, with proven track record, are provided special assistance and support to enable them to pursue basic research in frontier areas of science and technology.
- Then there is the INSPIRE Scheme which has three programs and five components. They are i) Scheme for Early Attraction of Talents for Science (SEATS), b) Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE) and c) Assured Opportunity for Research Careers (AORC).
- IMPacting Research INnovation and Technology (IMPRINT), the first-of-its-kind Pan-IIT and IISc joint initiative, is a Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) initiative to address major engineering challenges that the country must address and champion to enable, empower and embolden the nation for inclusive growth and self-reliance.
- VAJRA (Visiting Advanced Joint Research) Faculty scheme by the Department of Science and Technology which enables NRIs and overseas scientific community to participate and contribute to research and development in India.
- Then there is the Ramanujan Fellowship which is meant for brilliant Indian scientists and engineers from all over the world to take up scientific research positions in India, i.e. for those Indian scientists who want to return to India from abroad.
What is needed?
- The most important role for our scientists today is in the training of the next generation to make critical thinking second nature and research commonplace.
- Our best science and technology research environments cater to less than 5% of our students.
- Quality research, driven by the search for knowledge understanding, must also be done in our state universities, which cater to 95% of our students, and where first generation students enter in the millions.
- Mathematics, statistics and data science, along with computer science, need to be added to foundational skilling, through language-neutral teaching material accessible in quality across our geographies.
- Assured employment opportunities and funds can boost scientific research in the nation and this can also reverse the brain drain.
- Finally there is a need for scientific researches that are meant to solve India specific issues such as climate change,drought,water conservation etc.
SOURCE: Hindustan Times.
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