India’s march from the festival of 75 years of Independence to its centenary celebrations in 2047 is made special by “our increased dependence and unwavering trust in the employment of scientific knowledge and technology in our developmental endeavours,” Governor Arif Mohammed Khan said on Monday.
He said the challenge before the scientific community, society, and the government was to strike a balance by finding solutions to optimise the use of resources and increase productivity. It is here that radiation technology can be used to optimise material and energy use and improve productivity for sustainable development, he said while inaugurating the international conference of the National Association for Application of Radioisotopes and Radiation in Industry here.
“We need to cultivate and celebrate a culture of greater faith in the efforts of our scientific community. The need for building such faith applies more to nuclear energy where some people associate it with fear. Its role in medicine, boosting agriculture, and ensuring food safety need to be highlighted,” he said.
The conference features interactive sessions and workshops on current advancements in technologies based on radiation and radioisotopes, their crucial role in meeting emerging necessities and supporting sustainable development.
Ajit Kumar Mohanty, Director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, said the development agenda of a country was a national imperative which had to be relentlessly pursued for the socio-economic development of its people. Radiation technology and radiation isotopes bring sustainable development across multiple domains.
S.A. Bhardwaj, former chairman, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, said the unbelievable science of sub-atomic particles formed the basis of many modern technologies including fission, fusion and photoelectric effects used in photovoltaic cells, medical devices, and therapy, LED lights, sanitisation of medical devices, food radiation processing, and waste treatment.
