Science and technology in the Republic of India
Encyclopedia
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
, the first Prime Minister of India
Prime Minister of India
The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
(office: 15 August 1947 – 27 May 1964), initiated reforms to promote higher education, science, technology in India. The Indian Institute of Technology — conceived by a 22 member committee of scholars and entrepreneurs in order to promote technical education — was inaugurated on 18 August 1951 at Kharagpur
Kharagpur
Kharagpur is an industrial city in India. It is located in the Midnapore West district of the state of West Bengal.Kharagpur was chosen as the location of the first campus of the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology . The IITs are the premier technical education institutes in India and...
in West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
by then minister of education Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
Maulana Abul Kalam Muhiyuddin Ahmed was an Indian Muslim scholar and a senior political leader of the Indian independence movement, who lived from 11 November 1888 – 22 February 1958. He was one of the most prominent Muslim leaders to support Hindu-Muslim unity, opposing the partition of India on...
. Beginning in the 1960s, close ties with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
enabled the Indian Space Research Organization to rapidly develop the Indian space program and advance nuclear power in India
Nuclear power in India
Nuclear power is the fourth-largest source of electricity in India after thermal, hydroelectric and renewable sources of electricity. As of 2010, India has 20 nuclear reactors in operation in six nuclear power plants, generating 4,780 MW while seven other reactors are under construction and...
even after the first nuclear test explosion by India
Smiling Buddha
The Smiling Buddha, formally designated as Pokhran-I, was the codename given to Republic of India's first nuclear test explosion that took place at the long-constructed Indian Army base, Pokhran Test Range at Pokhran municipality, Rajasthan state on 18 May 1974 at 8:05 a.m....
on May 18, 1974 at Pokhran
Pokhran
Pokhran is a city and a municipality located in Jaisalmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is a remote location in the Thar Desert region and served as the test site for India's first underground nuclear weapon detonation.-Geography:Pokhran http://marupradesh.org/ located at...
.
India accounts for about 10% of all expenditure on research and development
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
in Asia and the number of scientific publications grew by 45% over the past five years. However, according to India's science and technology minister, Kapil Sibal
Kapil Sibal
Kapil Sibal is an Indian politician and lawyer. He is currently the Minister of Communications and Information Technology. He also held the two ministries Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Earth Sciences in the First Manmohan Singh Cabinet...
, India is lagging in science and technology compared to developed countries. India has only 140 researchers per 1,000,000 population, compared to 4,651 in the United States. India invested US$3.7 billion in science and technology in 2002-2003. For comparison, China invested about four times more than India, while the United States invested approximately 75 times more than India on science and technology. Despite this, five Indian Institutes of Technology
Indian Institutes of Technology
The Indian Institutes of Technology are a group of autonomous engineering and technology-oriented institutes of higher education. The IITs are governed by the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 which has declared them as “institutions of national importance”, and lays down their powers, duties,...
were listed among the top 10 science and technology schools in Asia by Asiaweek
Asiaweek
Asiaweek, the English edition, was a news magazine focusing on Asia, published weekly by Asiaweek Limited, a subsidiary of Time Inc. Based in Hong Kong, it was established in 1975, and ceased publication with its December 7, 2001 issue due to a "downturn in the advertising market," according to...
. One study argued that Indian science did not suffer from lack of funds but from unethical practices, the urge to make illegal money, misuse of power, frivolous publications and patents, faulty promotion policies, victimization for speaking against wrong or corrupt practices in the management, sycophancy, and brain drain. However, the number of publications by Indian scientists is characterized by some of the fastest growth rates among major countries. India, together with China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
are the only developing countries among 31 nations with 97.5% of the world's total scientific productivity. The remaining 162 developing countries contriboutput.
1947–1967
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, and hence made an effort to promote higher education, and science and technology in India.
Nehru's Planning Commission (1950) fixed investment levels, prescribed priorities, divided funds between agriculture and
industry, and divided resources between the state and the federal governments. The result of the efforts between 1947-1962 saw the area under irrigation increase by 45 million acres (182,108.7 km²), food production rise by 34 million metric tons, installed power generating capacity increase by 79 million kilowatts, and an overall increase of 94 percent in industrial production. The enormous population rise, however, would balance the gains made by Nehru. The economically beleaguered country was nevertheless able to build a large scientific workforce, second in numbers only to that of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Education — provided by the Government of India — was free and compulsory up to the Age of 14. More emphasis was paid to the enhancement of vocational and technical skills. J. P. Naik, member-secretary of the Indian Education Commission, commented on the educational policies of the time:
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
Maulana Abul Kalam Muhiyuddin Ahmed was an Indian Muslim scholar and a senior political leader of the Indian independence movement, who lived from 11 November 1888 – 22 February 1958. He was one of the most prominent Muslim leaders to support Hindu-Muslim unity, opposing the partition of India on...
, inaugurated the Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur
Kharagpur
Kharagpur is an industrial city in India. It is located in the Midnapore West district of the state of West Bengal.Kharagpur was chosen as the location of the first campus of the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology . The IITs are the premier technical education institutes in India and...
in West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
. Possibly modeled after the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
these institutions were conceived by a 22 member committee of scholars and entrepreneurs under the chairmanship of N. R. Sarkar.
The Sino-Indian war
Sino-Indian War
The Sino-Indian War , also known as the Sino-Indian Border Conflict , was a war between China and India that occurred in 1962. A disputed Himalayan border was the main pretext for war, but other issues played a role. There had been a series of violent border incidents after the 1959 Tibetan...
(1962) came as a rude awakening to Nehru's military preparedness. Military cooperation with the Soviet Union — partially aimed at developing advanced military technology — was pursued during the coming years. Defence Research and Development Organisation
Defence Research and Development Organisation
The Defence Research and Development Organisation is a agency of the Republic of India, responsible for the development of technology for use by the military, headquartered in New Delhi, India...
was formed in 1958.
Radio broadcasting was initiated in 1927 but became state responsibility only in 1930. In 1937 it was given the name All India Radio
All India Radio
All India Radio , officially known since 1956 as Akashvani , is the radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. Established in 1936, it is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, the national television broadcaster. All India Radio is one of the largest radio networks...
and since 1957 it has been called Akashvani. Limited duration of television programming began in 1959, and complete broadcasting followed in 1965.
The Indian Government acquired the EVS EM computers from the Soviet Union, which were used in large companies and research laboratories. Tata Consultancy Services — established in 1968 by the Tata Group
Tata Group
Tata Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Tata Group is one of the largest companies in India by market capitalization and revenue. It has interests in communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy,...
— were the country's largest software producers during the 1960s.
1967–1987
The roots of nuclear power in IndiaNuclear power in India
Nuclear power is the fourth-largest source of electricity in India after thermal, hydroelectric and renewable sources of electricity. As of 2010, India has 20 nuclear reactors in operation in six nuclear power plants, generating 4,780 MW while seven other reactors are under construction and...
lie in early acquisition of nuclear reactor technology from a number of western countries, particularly the American support for the Tarapur Atomic Power Station
Tarapur Atomic Power Station
Tarapur Atomic Power Station is located in Tarapur, Maharashtra . It was initially constructed with two boiling water reactor units of 160 MW each by Bechtel and GE under the 1963 123 Agreement between India, the United States, and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Units 1 and 2 were...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's CANDU reactor
CANDU reactor
The CANDU reactor is a Canadian-invented, pressurized heavy water reactor. The acronym refers to its deuterium-oxide moderator and its use of uranium fuel...
s. The peaceful policies of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi may have delayed the inception of nuclear technology in India.
Stanley Wolpert
Stanley Wolpert
Stanley Wolpert is an American Indologist, author, and academic. He is considered one of the world's foremost authorities on the political and intellectual history of modern India and Pakistan and has written fiction and nonfiction books on the topics...
(2008) describes the measures taken by the Indian government to increase agricultural output:
The Indian space program received only financial support from the Soviet Union, which helped the Indian Space Research Organisation
Indian Space Research Organisation
The Indian Space Research Organisation is an independent Indian governmental agency established in 1969 for the research and development of vehicles and activities for the exploration of space within and outside of Earth’s atmosphere. Headquartered in Bangalore...
achieve aims such as establishing the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station
Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station
The Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station is an Indian spaceport, operated by the Indian Space Research Organization. It is located in Thumba, Thiruvananthapuram which is near the southern tip of India, very close to earth's magnetic equator...
, launching remote sensing satellites, developing India’s first satellite—Aryabhatta
Aryabhata (satellite)
Aryabhatta was India's first satellite, named after the great Indian astronomer of the same name. It was launched by the Soviet Union on 19 April 1975 from Kapustin Yar using a Cosmos-3M launch vehicle. It was built by the Indian Space Research Organization to gain experience in building and...
, and sending astronauts into the space. India sustain its nuclear program during the aftermath of Operation Smiling Buddha
Smiling Buddha
The Smiling Buddha, formally designated as Pokhran-I, was the codename given to Republic of India's first nuclear test explosion that took place at the long-constructed Indian Army base, Pokhran Test Range at Pokhran municipality, Rajasthan state on 18 May 1974 at 8:05 a.m....
— India's first nuclear tests.
Though the roots of the Steel Authority of India Ltd. lie in Hindustan Steel Private Limited (1954), the events leading up to the formation of the modern avatar are described below:
In 1981, the Indian Antarctic Programme was started when the first Indian Expedition was flagged off for Antarctica from Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
. More missions were subsequently sent each year to India's base Dakshin Gangotri.
1987–present
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
, for which a separate department was created in 1986 under the Ministry of Science and Technology. Both the Indian private sector and the government have invested in the medical and agricultural applications of biotechnology. Massive Biotech parks were established in India while the government provided tax deduction for research and development under biotechnological firms.
The Indian economy underwent economic reforms in 1991, leading to a new era of globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
and international economic integration. Economic growth of over 6% annually was seen between 1993-2002. Same year a new permanent Antarctic base Maitri
Maitri
Maitri is India's second permanent research station in Antarctica. It was built and finished in 1989, shortly before the first station Dakshin Gangotri was buried in ice and abandoned in 1990-91...
was founded and continues to remain in operation till date.
The effect of the technologically inclined services sector— which includes the IT industry in India
IT industry in India
The Indian Information Technology industry accounts for a 5.19% of the country's GDP and export earnings as of 2009, while providing employment to a significant number of its tertiary sector workforce. However, only 2.5 million people are employed in the sector either directly or indirectly...
—accounting for 40% of India's GDP and 30% of export earnings as of 2006, while employing only 25% of its workforce—is summarized by Sharma (2006) in the Encyclopedia of India
Encyclopedia of India
The Encyclopedia of India is a four-volume encyclopedia on Indian history and culture under editor-in-chief Stanley Wolpert. The series was published by Gale in November 2005 under ISBN 9780684313498....
:
On 25 June 2002 India and the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
agreed to bilateral cooperation in the field of science and technology. A joint EU-India group of scholars was formed on 23 November 2001 to further promote joint research and development. India holds observer status at CERN
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
while a joint India-EU Software Education and Development Center is due at Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
.
External links
- Computer Technology News India
- India: Science and technology. U.S. Library of Congress.
- Indian National Science AcademyIndian National Science AcademyThe Indian National Science Academy , New Delhi is the apex body of Indian scientists representing all branches of science & technology.-History:...
(2001). Pursuit and promotion of science: The Indian Experience. Indian National Science Academy. - India: Technology News
- Nation: How Indian Science is Taking Over the World by Angela Saini (2011)
Indian Ancient Sciences : Archaeology Based; Lap Lambert- Germany, 2010. ISBN -978-3-8383-9027-7