GUWAHATI, June 25 - While India has achieved a lot in the field of education, and science and technology, the quality of research work undertaken in the country is lacking in certain aspects and effort needs to be taken to carry out research projects that will help solve issues affecting the people, Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Dr Satya Pal Singh said today.
Delivering the convocation address at the 20th Convocation of the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG) here, Dr Singh also said that many ancient Indian texts contain valuable ideas related to science and technology, and such kind of knowledge could be made use of by scientists and researchers.
�Education should not be only for creating technologists and scientists but it should also focus on creating good human beings. The focus should be on aiding students to develop a holistic body, mind and soul. We should not forget our cultural roots,� he said.
He added that India is still lacking in the field of quality research despite the progress made in education and science. �Much more needs to be done in the field of research. Only publishing papers and journals is not enough... Research should be for benefit of mankind,� Dr Singh said.
He said that global recognitions like Nobel Prize in disciplines of science have eluded Indians in recent times and called for innovative ideas to be formulated which would benefit the masses.
Dr Singh, who started his speech with a Sanskrit prayer, spoke about a particular manuscript in the Sanskrit language which was reportedly found by the Chinese authorities in Lhasa, Tibet, some decades back, deciphered with the help of an American expert and which reportedly contains information about �anti-gravity� and space technology.
He said that while he has not yet verified that particular �story� about the manuscript with the Indian Institute of Science, there do exist many old Indian texts which contain substantial information on scientific matters.
Dr Singh also mentioned that June 25 is the anniversary of declaration of Emergency. The state of Emergency had been declared on June 25, 1975. �It is a black day for Indian democracy, a day when Emergency was declared,� he said.
He, however, added that for the students of IITG who received their degrees today it will be a memorable day of their lives. He also commended the role of IITG and said the institute has achieved remarkable success over the years.
�I am confident that IIT Guwahati will continue to excel. It should initiate research to deal with problems of the Northeast,� the minister said, adding, IITG can play an important role in research related to finding ways to deal with the flood problem of this region as well as for conservation of the ecosystem.
Interacting with the media here after the convocation ceremony, Dr Singh said that the Central government recently signed an MoU with Google under which work will be taken up to study the flood patterns across the country during last 25 years and identity the vulnerable locations.
�The government of India will extend all help to the states to deal with the problem of floods,� said Dr Singh, who is also the Minister of State for Water Resources.
He said that over the decades no proper scientific and technical solution has emerged to deal with the problem of perennial floods and said IIT Guwahati can help in this regard.
The minister said that the NDA government has taken up a number of schemes to prioritize research projects and prevent brain drain.
