Union Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences (Independent Charge) Jitendra Singh said on Saturday that the government will prioritise correcting the deficiencies in funding of scientific institutions through budgetary provisions as well as through private sector initiatives.
Mr. Singh was talking to journalists after dedicating to the nation R.V. Sindhu Sadhana, the first indigenously built research vessel, acquired recently by the CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (CSIR-NIO) at a function held on board the vessel at Mormugao harbour.
P.S. Ahuja, Director-General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and S.W.A. Naqvi, Director, NIO were present.
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Expressing concern over the inadequate priority ocean research had received in the country and also lamenting that “very few youngsters have been taking to science research,” Mr. Singh vowed to give adequate attention to these issues as part of the seven-week-old government’s overall policy initiative to encourage science and technology and research.
To a question over autonomy to research institutions, the Minister said the government’s thrust of “minimum government and maximum governance” would be applicable even to research institutions as regards their functioning and independence.
The Minister said the government was seriously considering giving priority to science and technology and the recent budget allocation for this field was the first step in that direction.
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In a bid to attract more and more youth into the field of science and technology the government has recently selected 20 students across the country on all India merit basis and were sent abroad to work with Nobel laureates. Even several NRI scientists had shown interest to come back and work for the motherland, he said.
Mr. Ahuja earlier said that the first-ever big project of Rs.20 crore was given to the NIO by the ONGC for research in Krishna and Godavari basin.
For NIO, the premier ocean research institute under CSIR involved in multi-disciplinary studies of marine processes and resources in sea and around India, the vessel was expected to serve as a platform to launch oceanographic research programmes of global importance and translate this knowledge to the benefit of the nation, Mr. Naqvi said.
State-of-the-art vessel
A multi-disciplinary research vessel, which is 80 metres long and 17.6 m wide, Sindhu Sadhana can accommodate 57 personnel, including 29 scientists. It is designed for a cruising speed of 13.5 knots and an endurance of 45 days. It has 10 laboratories that are fitted with state-of-the art equipment, facilitating high precision data and sample acquisition. The ship is equipped with a number of laboratories for online data collection and data processing.