CSIR NEWS Total visitors: 6,229 since 15-8-03 Volume 53 no 14, 30 July 2003 ISSN 04097467 Presentation of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prizes: 2002 PRIME MINISTER Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee presented Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prizes, the most coveted awards in Science & Technology in the country, for the year 2002, to 12 eminent scientists at a glittering function held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, on 12 July 2003. The function was presided over by Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, Minister for Human Resource Development, Science & Technology and Ocean Development. Shri Bachi Singh Rawat, Minister of State for Science & Technology, was also present on the occasion.
Dr R.A. Mashelkar, Director General, CSIR, delivering his welcome address A special feature of this year's function was the `Bhatnagar Laureates (2002) Symposium', following the presentation of the Bhatnagar Prizes. The symposium was organized at the instance of Minister for Science & Technology Dr Murli Manohar Joshi with the objective to provide a glimpse of the best in Science & Technology that the country has to offer, to the young research workers and school students. In this, each Bhatnagar Laureate presented the gist of his work that got him the prestigious Bhatnagar Prize. A large number of research workers, and students from schools in Delhi and nearby places attended. Extending a warm welcome to Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Dr R.A. Mashelkar, FRS, Director General, CSIR, said that this was the fifth consecutive year when Shri Vajpayee was presenting these prizes. The practice of presentation of Bhatnagar Prizes by the Prime Minister began in 1961 when Pt Jawaharlal Nehru gave the Prize for 1958. But so far no other Prime Minister has given away these prizes for five consecutive years and thus Shri Vajpayee has set a record. “I wish him to continue to present these awards for many more years”, said Dr Mashelkar. Welcoming the Minister for Science & Technology Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, Dr Mashelkar said that Dr Joshi has provided a new dynamism to S&T in the country. He has always laid stress on Innovation and been providing guidance to us on all aspects – in fact, the idea for holding the Bhatnagar Laureates Symposium also came from him. The CSIR Director General also thanked the Minister of State for Science & Technology Shri Bachi Singh Rawat for his guidance. Regarding the coveted Bhatnagar Prizes, Dr Mashelkar said that the prize money for these awards, which was Rs 10,000 for each of the seven disciplines till mid ‑ seventies, has increased over the years and today it is Rs 200,000 for each winner . But it is not only the money, of much more importance is the prestige attached to these awards. The NCL scientists, Dr Mashelkar continued, once wanted to know how one becomes an FRS? And the answer they got from an eminent personality associated with the selection of FRS was: It is not important for us to know how many papers a scientist has published. We ask a simple question – What difference the contributions of the scientist has made to the world of science? Or, in other words, will it would have been any different had that particular scientist not been there. We are starting the practice of holding a symposium, following the presentation of the prizes, where the Bhatnagar Laureates will not only present their work but will also tell us what difference has it made to the advancement of S&T. We shall also bring out a book on the work of Bhatnagar Laureates, he added. Dr Mashelkar also read out the citations of the prize ‑ winners, which are given on page221. Prof. S.K. Brahmachari, Director, Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi, proposed a vote of thanks.
Address by Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee DR Murli Manohar Joshi, Shri Bachi Singh Rawat, Dr Mashelkar, Dr Brahmachari, Bhatnagar Laureates, my young scientist friends and other distinguished guests: This is the fifth Bhatnagar Awards function that I have the privilege to address. It is always heartening to be in the company of the most outstanding among our country's scientists. But today, I have an additional reason to be pleased. For I see in front of me hundreds of young science scholars, who are participating for the first time in the Bhatnagar Awards function. Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee delivering his address at the S.S. Bhatnagar Prize function A view of the distinguish audience at the Bhatnagar Prize presention function I must congratulate the CSIR for the 'innovation' it has introduced in this event by holding the Bhatnagar Laureates Symposium. This will give the young minds present here an opportunity to interact with the brightest among Indian scientists. I would like to congratulate the Bhatnagar awardees, who have excelled in their respective areas of research. I am happy to note that most of the Bhatnagar awardees of yesteryears have continued to remain and work in India. They have over the years pioneered new schools of thought, spawned new paradigms for technology, established centers of excellence and won many laurels. To the new Awardees, I would like to say, "You now have an onerous responsibility. You are the role model for young scientists. You have to set an example to them by your continued pursuit of excellence in science, high levels of ethics in your work, and the larger vision of nation ‑ building that ought to guide the work of scientists as well as all the rest of us in our respective professions." Today as I pay tribute to the achievers — both past and present — in Indian science and technology, I naturally think of those of our compatriots who have gone abroad and whose superior research capabilities are now
acknowledged all over the world. While speaking to DRDO scientists on this year's Technology Day, I had said that we are proud of the fact that tens of thousands of Indian scientists and engineers around the world are making valuable contributions to the areas of their specialization and to economies of their countries of domicile. Many Heads of State, including those of industrialized nations, have spoken to me praising their contribution. This gives us the hope and confidence that by creating the right environment for learning, teaching and working here in India, our talented scientists and engineers can produce path ‑ breaking discoveries and inventions in our own country. Here I am reminded of the words of an immigrant scientist in the United States who went on to win a Nobel Prize. "A scientist is like a painter. Michael Angelo became a great artist because he had been given a wall to paint. My wall was given to me by the United States." So, the first thing all of us should together resolve — those of us in Government as well as those of you in Science & Technology institutions — is to provide a big enough canvas to our researchers right here in India. We should further improve the environment for research and development in India. I am told that much improvement has taken place in recent years, especially in areas such as information technology, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. But we need to accomplish much more. The Bhatnagar prize is a national honour. But your ambition should be to benchmark your research with the best in the world and win prestigious international honours. I am happy to see that this year, as many as seven Indians have won the honours of getting elected to the US National Academies of Science & Engineering. What gladdens me especially is the fact that, although five of them have won the honours for work done in USA, the remaining two — Dr Obaid Siddiqi and Dr Raghunath Mashelkar ‑‑ have done their entire work in India. I would like to congratulate them heartily. What does their success mean? It means that you can indeed do world ‑ class research in our own laboratories in India, provided you dare to dream, and provided your efforts match your dreams and your ambitions. Apart from prestigious international honours, the other criterion to judge the quality of output of India's S&T establishment is the number of research papers published in reputed international journals. Perhaps this is an area that has not received adequate attention. There seems to be an apparent disconnect between our proven technological capability to harness existing knowledge and unsatisfactory contribution to new knowledge. After all, India has made notable progress in the past two decades in agriculture, space, nuclear energy, and several manufacturing sectors. However, this progress is not matched by globally recognized original research in India. It should be the endeavour of our scientists and researchers in CSIR laboratories, universities. IlTs, ICMR, ICAR and other organizations to significantly increase their output of globally recognized research papers. As history tells us, a nation can progress economically in the short term based on `existing knowledge', but such progress is not sustainable in the long run — especially in today's competitive conditions ‑‑ in the absence of creation of 'new knowledge'. Thus, we have to be equally adept at both generating new knowledge and applying it to our various national needs. On this occasion I cannot help reiterate my concern over the declining interest in science among students. In 1950s and '60's, the best students chose to go for science education. Today's bright students seem to be shying away from
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