Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for quickening the pace of developing scientific knowledge and application relevant to the needs of developing countries as the problems of under-development do not receive adequate attention in the advanced industrialised nations.
Inaugurating the 21st general meeting of the Academy of Sciences for Developing World (TWAS) here on Tuesday, he said the challenges facing the developing countries were similar, whether it was combating tropical diseases, transforming traditional agriculture or predicting and tackling natural disasters.
Pointing out that the development path followed by the industrialised countries had the potential to threaten our existence and way of life, he said "I have therefore wondered whether there is an alternative and more sustainable way of developing our societies and economies without injuring and destroying the natural bounty of Mother Earth”.
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Dr. Singh also stressed the need for collaboration among scientific communities to overcome the shortages of skilled scientific manpower and research facilities.
He said science was a key driver that guides global policy discourse and action in areas such as climate change and biodiversity. “The work done by the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change or the International Union for Conservation of Nature is of critical interest to us. The impact of climate change, for example, is most devastating in the developing world,"Dr.Singh observed.
Stating that many of these scientific processes were dominated by scientists from the advanced countries, he said the concerns of developing countries need to be voiced more forcefully in these processes.
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Union Minister of State for Science & Technology, Prithviraj Chavan, said sustained progress could be achieved through inclusive development strategies and called for developing products that improve the lives of everyone.
Earlier Dr. Singh presented ‘India Science Prize”, instituted by the Government of India, to eminent statistician, Prof.C. R. Rao. He also gave away ‘ Ernesto Illy Trieste Science Prize’ to Dr. Jose Goldemberg from Brazil and 15 other TWAS 2010 awards and medals to scientists from India and other countries. A Special Award was given to Dr. Singh on the occasion.