Indo-US nuclear deal should be on equal footing

New Delhi, Apr 27: A plea for exercising caution while signing the 123 Agreement to operationalise the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal to guard India's interests was made in the Lok Sabha today.

Apprehensions have been expressed in certain quarters in India about whether the Treaty will be in India's interest, Mr Bacchi Singh Rawat (BJP) said, initiating a discussion on the Demands for Grants for the Ministry of Science and Technology.

He said the sovereignty of the country should be maintained while signing the nuclear treaty with the US and it should be done on an equal footing with that country. At no cost should the treaty be signed if it hurt the interests of India, he added.

Mr Rawat stressed the need for undertaking more research on India's herbal products and suggested setting up of an Institute of Herbal Science in this connection. China alone had developed a market worth Rs 20,000 crore in herbal products, he pointed out.

Mr Sandeep Dixit (Cong) underlined the need for developing scientific temper in the country and called for more funds to be allocated to the Ministry of Science and Technology, describing the allocation as inadequate. He noted that there was a distinct deterioration in the level of research in the country and there was disinclination among the students to opt for and pursue science course. He wanted the Government to formulate its future plans in such a manner as to enable the country to face the likely impact of global warming in the next ten to fifteen years.

Mr Sujan Chakravarty (CPI-M) supported the Demands for Grants for the Science and Technology Ministry, noting that this year an increase of only 17 per cent had been made in the allocation to the Ministry as against 28 per cent increase made last year. The projected Budget for the Ministry was Rs 9000 crore while actual allocation made was to the tune of Rs 4400 crore by the Finance Department.

Supporting the demands for grants of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Alok Kumar Mehta (RJD) said there was a strong need for a review of scientific achievements to find out whether they were beneficial for the people or not. He said though Bihar is a big state still there is not even a single Software Technology Park, no scientific incubator nor any other projects allocated from the Centre. The Government should set up some of these projects in Bihar to encourage scientific growth in the state.

Braja Kishore Tripathy (BJD), while supporting the demands for grants of the Ministry of Science and Technology, said the growth of scientific knowledge was not taking place according to the need of the country.

He said Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister C N R Rao in a recent letter to the PM said it is the bureaucracy which is not allowing the growth of science in the country and Ministers should take note of this.

He said in the country scientists have to go from pillar to post to get there patents registrated. He said the Government should set up the patent registration authority in every State to improve the situation.

He also advocated the imposition of cess on the corporate sector to fund scientific projects in the country.

He said the Government should impose a ban on the brain drain as their education is primarily been funded by the poor man's taxes.

Similarly, the perks and privileges of the scientists should be improved to retain them within the country.

Suresh P Prabhu (Shiv Sena) said the Government should spend more on science education. He said the economic growth of any country has a direct relation with its scientific talent. Citing an example, Mr Prabhu said China is producing 7000 PHD's per year and this figure was less than five per cent of this just 10 years ago and that is the reason that China is now the second largest economic power in the world.

Mr Kharabela Swain (BJP) demanded setting up of more IITs in the country, raising the retirement age for scientists to 75 years, and enhancing the allocation for R&D. Mr K S Rao (Cong) called for legislation to make it mandatory for corporate sector to enter into scientific research. Mr K S Manoj (CPI-M) wanted integration of traditional and modern knowledge.

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