India's contribution to science is 'dwindling': Expert

Bangalore, Aug 23 (UNI) The Prime Minister's Scientific Advisory Council Chairman and renowned scientist C N R Rao today expressed concern over the dwindling contribution of India to the world of science, during the last three decades, due to the curtailment of investment in universities and higher education sector.

Delivering the keynote address at a seminar on 'Science and Technology, Past, Present and Future in Karnataka' organised by the Karnataka Science and Technology Academy here, Prof Rao said India's contribution to the top 100 scientific papers published globally stood as low as 0.5 per cent.

He expressed regret that the financial support to Indian universities by both Union and state governments were limited to meet only the establishment expenses, salaries and perks of the faculty. ''The funding to universities is becoming so thin that they are being put on the path of death by feeding progressively less and less,'' he added.

Recalling that during 1950s, over 2,500 research students per year were enlisting in Benaras university, he said the number had now come down to only 125. While the number of Indian research papers published in international journals were about 4,000 per year since 20 years, it was around 16,000 by China and 23,000 by the United States.

''The glaring difference in this area was due to dwindling of research activities in the Indian universities. There is nothing called 'Research Budget' in our universities and this situation should be changed for the good of the country,'' he said.

Dr Rao said the amount of scientific work being done in the United States was enormous and it could be matched in the Asian block, consisting of Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore and India ranked 11th.

Stating that science was an exciting subject and offered a lot of career opportunities, the renowned scientist urged the youth to choose it for its enhancement. ''Science can play a crucial role in alleviating poverty, contributing to the development of the nation as well as facing challenges by advanced countries,'' he said.

UNI