Union S and T ministry seeking 125,000 cr budget

Bangalore, Dec 22: Underscoring the need for greater allocation to Science and Technology to sustain a double digit growth over the next few years to ensure a nine per cent GDP growth rate in the eleventh five year plan, Union Minister for Science and Technology (S and T) Kapil Sibal today said that his Ministry had sought Rs.125,000 crore allocation for the next fiscal.

Speaking after releasing the Kannada version of Science Safari jointly produced by the Ministry and the National Geographic Channel here Mr Sibal said that currently the allocation was only Rs.25,000 crore and there was need for enhancing it five times to enable S and T play a dominant role in hastening the growth. However, it was to be seen what Union Finance Minister Chidambaram would release, he added.

Stating that the allocation was a mere 0.8 per cent compared to nearly two per cent of China and three per cent of the Western World, Mr Sibal said ''S and T is an important tool for economic development and no real progress will reach the people without it.''

Admitting the waning prominence of pure science, he said the government was taking various steps to bring back the lost glory of pure science. These measures included provision of scholarship of Rs.5000 to one million students across the country every year from 2007-08, setting up of centres of excellence in 32 universities across the country and enabling top students in 12th standard interact with nobel laureates and top scientists of the country. He said 50 centres of bio technology was also being planned across the country.

UNI