Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has called for efforts to make sure that science, technology and innovation reach the poorest, the remotest and the most vulnerable person in our country at the 102nd Session of the Indian Science Congress (ISC) at University of Mumbai on January 3, 2015. The focal theme of the Session is “Science and Technology for Human Development”.
Since its inception in the year 1914, ISC has seen a significant growth but this time it has raised many controversies which includes the following: Aeroplanes existed in India 7,000 years ago and they travelled from not just one country to another but also to other planets, claimed by Captain Anand J Bodas. Drawing upon the ancient Vedic texts to support the claim that there was flying technology in ancient India, Bodas said, “There is a reference of ancient aviation in the Rigveda.”
For instance, Dr Harsh Vardhan, the Union Minister for Science and Technology said, “Our scientists discovered the Pythagoras theorem, but we… gave credit to the Greeks. We all know that we knew ‘beejganit’ much before the Arabs, but very selflessly we allowed it to be called Algebra. This is the base the Indian scientific community has maintained.”
Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar who was also present at the symposium said, “Ancient Indian scientific theories were based on minute observations and logic. That wisdom must be recognised.”
According to some researchers at the conference, Indians had developed 20 types of sharp instruments and 101 blunt ones for surgeries, which largely resemble the modern surgical instruments,” while another spoke of how “ancient Indian engineers had adequate knowledge of Indian botany and
they effectively used it in their
construction.”
The ISC session was declared open by the Prime Minister with his thoughtful lines “Revive the romance of science. Allow the scientists to imagine, think and dream. ”
An interactive session on the journey towards the launch of Mangalyaan and a way forward towards future technologies was dealt on the Mars Mission. Koppillil Radhakrishnan presided over the session. He has been the chairman of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) from 2009 to 2014. The session was followed by Dr. Pramod Kale. He has worked for the Indian Space Research Programme in various leadership roles. He also received the 2006 Aryabhatta award for his lifetime contribution to the promotion of astronomy in India.
Mr. Chunli Bai, President of Chinese academy of Sciences (CAS) was the first speaker of the plenary session for International Academies.
Stressing on the importance of social business, Noble Price winner for peace, Prof. Muhammad Yunus said that social business is a business to solve human problems. The session was attended by Dr Randy Schekman, Dr Robin Warren, Ada E Yonath, Dr Paul Nurse, Prof. Muhammad Yunus, SRS Vardhan, Prof. Subhash Khot, Prof. Manjul Bhargava, and Prof. Madhu Sudan.
