Jatni (Orissa): Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh on Sunday said the Centre was committed to operational
autonomy of certain scientific institutes of eminence and
sought private investment for research and development
activities.
"We are committed to ensure operational autonomy,
including in the matter of appointments, to various
institutions of excellence under the Department of Atomic
Energy as in the case with some other scientific institutions
of eminence in India," the Prime Minister said.
He was speaking after laying the foundation for a new
campus of the National Institute for Science Education and
Technology (NISER) here.
Pointing out that the country had achieved great progress
in science and technology, Singh said 'mission-oriented'
institutes like Atomic Energy institutions had made the nation
proud.
The country's expenditure on science and technology,
however, was only one per cent of the GDP and the government
was committed to increase R&D funding, Singh said.
While the government had been making larger allocations
in the area for some time, Singh said he expected the private
sector to do more for R&D.
"The private sector's participation is only zero point 25
per cent of the GDP, which is much less than the actual
requirement," Singh said and called for Public-Private
Partnership (PPP) in R&D in all areas of science and
technology.
Expressing concern that the best minds were not turning
to science, Singh said the country must find ways of making
science more attractive for youths.
"We must improve the quality of teaching in science and
mathematics at the school level. At the university level, we
must ensure better infrastructure, high quality faculty and
greater interaction between academia and industry," he said.
Citing another instance of youths keeping away from the
science stream, he pointed out that the starting salary for
scientists with a PhD in India was often lower than those of
engineers, doctors and management graduates.
"One way of making a career in science and technology
attractive is to improve remuneration and ensure the integrity
of the selection process," Singh said.
If talented young people were to be retained in science,
scientists had to be 'treated differently' than other
government employees in service and salary matters, the Prime
Minister said.
Though the government had undertaken a massive expansion
and improvement of education system at all levels, Singh said
he realised that the country needed to do much more.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, December 27, 2009, 19:43