ISRO soaring
At a time when the media continue to have only news of murky politics, the sight of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C51, lifting off majestically from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on Sunday and successfully placing in orbit Brazil’s Amazonia-1 and 18 other co-passenger satellites was heart warming and refreshing (Page 1, March 1). The event is a perfect and fitting gift to the nation just after National Science Day. ISRO has truly become the synonym for hard work, perseverance and team spirit. That some of the satellites were developed by students should serve as a source of inspiration for our youth. Finally, that India is looking toward space diplomacy will certainly give a fillip to the nation’s global ties.
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B. Suresh Kumar,
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Coimbatore
Regulatory framework
There is no case that all forms of news media, whether print or digital, should come under a similar regulatory architecture. The reach of digital news media is deeper and more intimately entwined with people’s daily lives than that of the non-digital news media. Consequently, the digital news media’s immediacy magnifies its capacity to inform as well as to disturb social order and peace. It is significant that the government will have the occasion to adjudicate on disputes and grievances as the last resort after the first and second tiers of internal regulators fail to settle the matter. The utter failure of self-regulation in the broadcasting industry does not inspire confidence that all digital news media platforms will function with enlightened self-restraint.
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V.N. Mukundarajan,
Loan waiver wave
The spree of loan waiver announcements in the run-up to the Assembly elections is ill-conceived and retrograde, more so when a State such as Tamil Nadu is battling with a whopping debt burden.
When one government sets such a bad precedent, the successor has no option but to toe the line. To bring about a transformation, it is imperative to ensure economic empowerment, social development and financial inclusion instead of rolling out freebies, loan waivers and other fleeting benefits.
V. Johan Dhanakumar,
Chennai
The spate of loan waivers announced by Tamil Nadu Government makes poor economic sense. It is a sad commentary of the abyss in which electoral politics has descended. The government of the day seems to have no accountability for fiscal prudence. The Election Commission of India and the Supreme Court should step in and frame guidelines to stop this buying of votes, direct and indirectly, by throwing away state money.
K. Ramachandran,
Chennai
Science in India
The teaching methods of science in India at the school and college levels are not conducive for fostering scientific inquiry and thinking in students The syllabus for science is huge and a teacher’s focus is on completing the prescribed syllabus, rather than ensuring that the subject is discussed threadbare in the classroom and concepts fully understood by the students. The examination system still continues to test the memory power of students rather than the knowledge acquired and understanding of concepts. In addition, the science educational system is now largely oriented towards preparing students for entrance examinations to pursue the engineering and medical streams with an eye on bright and highly remunerative careers. Hardly any bright student does graduation in science with an objective of pursuing scientific research as a career. We need to foster scientific thinking in young minds; we need to lighten our science syllabus at every level, transform teaching methods to spur the scientific curiosity of the students and create an interest for scientific inquiry, apart from providing necessary infrastructure such as laboratories, at the school and college levels. And for those who opt for research career, it should be made as attractive remuneratively as a career in engineering or medicine would be, to attract the best talent. Further, there is no point in harping on our hoary and glorious past without expanding our present scientific horizons and contributing our might to the advancement of basic science. We should collectively ruminate as to why India has not produced another home grown Nobel Laurate after our great physicist C.V. Raman. Sir. C. V. Raman has given the world a brilliant and pathbreaking discovery, the Raman effect, but unfortunately, the effect of Raman on India and Indian science is minimal.
Kosaraju Chandramouli,
Hyderabad