India 50 Years of Independence: 1947-97 Status, Growth & Development (Science And Technology)

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The book outlines the development of India's scientific system, especially after independence. India's scientific heritage is traced from the time of the Indus valley civilisation down to the present day. Advances made during the Indus era, the Vedic era, the Classical era, the medieval period and the colonial times are briefly presented. The evolution of India's present S&T infrastructure is discussed, and the early debates and activities that led to the present structure analysed. An overview is given of science policy in India. The bulk of the book focuses on India's S&T achievements in different areas such as atomic energy, space, defence, agriculture, health, ocean development etc. The activities of the major departments such as the CSIR, DST etc., are highlighted. Suggestions are made for strengthening the interface between S&T and development. A statistical appendix provides data on various aspects such as R&D expenditure, manpower, output etc.

Dr. S. Mohan has a Doctorate in Nuclear Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA (1972). His major interests are in technology policy and planning, technology forecasting and assessment, and science policy studies. Before joining NISTADS in 1984, he has worked at the Regional Research Laboratory, Trivandrum; the Regional Engineering College, Calicut; the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. He has two books and a number of scientific publications. Dr. Ashok Jain is a well-known expert in science policy studies. Obtaining his Doctorate in Physics from the University of Delhi (1966), he has served in many important capacities, among them. Science Attaché, Embassy of India in Japan; Director, Department of Science and Technology; and Director, National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies (NISTADS), New Delhi (1985- 1998). He has six books and a large number of scientific publications to his credit. He is a member of several S&T policy committees of the Common wealth Secretariat, United Nations and other international agencies.

Science and technology have always been integral parts of the developmental process. While many more factors are needed for development other than S&T skills, these form an essential enabling condition. Science is also one of the major activities through which the intellectual and cultural vigour of a nation is expressed. It has always been an important part of India's cultural legacy; indeed ancient India's contribution to science has been remark able in its scope and diversity. has been In this book, the development of S&T in India is explored on a wide front, from the earliest days of Mohonjo-daro to the present. The first chapter explores our scientific heritage. It traces the remarkable advances of India in diverse areas such as metallurgy, architecture, health etc., from the days of Indus valley civilization through the Vedic period, the Classical period, the Medieval period and so on. The foundations of modern Indian science were laid during the colonial days, and these contributions are also analysed. Many of the major scientific institutions of India such as the CSIR, ICAR, ICMR etc. have their origins in the pre-independence period, and an account of the evolution of these institutions is given. After independence, the pace of S&T development in the country has accelerated. The book traces the develop qient of the remarkable infrastructure for S&T that was laid down during the early decades of independence and analyses the debates and public discussions that contributed to the emergence of a coherent science policy for the country. The major milestones in this process such as the scientific policy resolution, the NCST, the technology policy statement etc., are discussed. Over the last four decades the infrastructure for S&T has been laid down. At present by a rough count, there are more than 1,200 scientific institutions in India at the central and state level, a greater number of industrial R&D institutions or centres, about 210 universities, as well as cooperative research institutions. The contributions of this massive establishment is analysed on different aspects: the contributions of the different agencies such as CSIR, DST etc., as well as in different areas such as basic research, agriculture, health, defence research, environment, space, electronics and information technology. The up-to-date information on developments in all these areas is provided. While the progress made by Indian science and technology, and their contributions to development are significant, there is no doubt that much remains to be done. Especially critical is the need for strengthening the interfaces of indigenous S&T with the developmental process especially in areas such as industry and health. The current programme of economic liberalisation offers an opportunity for improving these links, and for upgrading our S&T system to be internationally competitive. This would involve major changes in areas such as intellectual property rights. Such changes are being made and there is a fruitful debate on the issues in the country. The last chapter in the book discusses some of these issues. There is also a statistical appendix giving the latest available quantitative data on aspects related to R&D such as the budget for R&D, scientific manpower, number of publications and patents and so on. I am confident that this book will prove useful to all those who are interested in the areas of science, technology and development.

**Contents and Sample Pages**