Mashelkar urges scientists to nurture innovations

Hyderabad, Oct 14: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Director General R A Mashelkar has appealed to the scientific community and universities to nurture innovation and entrepreneurship through partnership and make technology work for masses in all sectors.

Delivering the 2006 foundation day lecture 'Making High Technology Work for the Poor', organised by the Univeristy of Hyderabad here yesterday, he said today's challenge before the country was to face expectations of 1.2 billion people living on less than one US dollar per day and satisfy their hunger.

Stating that illiteracy and water scarcity were the primary concerns of Indian poor the DG said, innovative policies could give access of high technology to the poor.

Mr Mashelkar said technologies should be developed on ''Available, Approachable, Accessible and Appropriate (4S) method''.

He said the key to innovation was not doing different things but doing things differently. The challenge was getting the best minds in India to think and work on problems of the poor.

UNI