Saturday, October 07, 2006
Universities, IITs are neglecting research: PM
MUMBAI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has criticised the country’s universities and IITs for not creating an environment conducive to research. Singh said there is an acute need to rekindle interest in science and technology to keep India at the forefront of research. Singh cited examples of the advances in science made by newly industrialised nations such as China and South Korea, and underscored the rapid privatisation of research in developed economies.
IMO: Of course he is right that more money is needed for research. It is important that it should be spent in correct and often crucial areas. Almost certainly, much more in Government funding and/or incentives should be used. As a true democracy, India has the responsibility to ensure that a lot of money for this work comes via the Government. It would be unrealistic to deny the importance of large corporations in this too, for example and in simply social terms one need only compare the marvellous Telco settlement in Pimpri to the Port Sunlight experiment in Liverpool, the latter now sadly in effect largely disgarded, to show the importance of private investment for social good. This has helped to lead to Tata becoming one of the world's largest steel firms. (The old GE experiment going right). But unfortunately, the world today seems to have become a haven of capitalism of the wrong sort, i.e. that of UK 'New Labor' which is simply neoThatcherism. In the UK, there was some excuse because of appalling Trade Union greed but in India, all actual workers are poor. What there is absolutely no excuse for, is to emulate the America of George Bush which is simply based on everlasting war (as the US even admits in the case of Iraq), lies, planet resource exhaustion and impossible medical bills for the poor. India can't afford any of this! Simply, more money is needed for genuine basic research from Government to keep the country in the 21st Century. And this money must be carefully directed. A brain drain can be fairly readily avoided if real effort is made to do so.
IMO: Of course he is right that more money is needed for research. It is important that it should be spent in correct and often crucial areas. Almost certainly, much more in Government funding and/or incentives should be used. As a true democracy, India has the responsibility to ensure that a lot of money for this work comes via the Government. It would be unrealistic to deny the importance of large corporations in this too, for example and in simply social terms one need only compare the marvellous Telco settlement in Pimpri to the Port Sunlight experiment in Liverpool, the latter now sadly in effect largely disgarded, to show the importance of private investment for social good. This has helped to lead to Tata becoming one of the world's largest steel firms. (The old GE experiment going right). But unfortunately, the world today seems to have become a haven of capitalism of the wrong sort, i.e. that of UK 'New Labor' which is simply neoThatcherism. In the UK, there was some excuse because of appalling Trade Union greed but in India, all actual workers are poor. What there is absolutely no excuse for, is to emulate the America of George Bush which is simply based on everlasting war (as the US even admits in the case of Iraq), lies, planet resource exhaustion and impossible medical bills for the poor. India can't afford any of this! Simply, more money is needed for genuine basic research from Government to keep the country in the 21st Century. And this money must be carefully directed. A brain drain can be fairly readily avoided if real effort is made to do so.
# posted by uv : 8:42 AM
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