‘Technology is Power’

Indian scientist and experimental physicists, Dr. Rajagopala Chidambaram.

Morung Express News
Dimapur | February 28

Eminent Indian scientist and experimental physicists, Dr. Rajagopala Chidambaram, has iterated that ‘technology is power’ and that if India is to become a global technology leader, than it should be in the forefront in creating IPRs and make itself immune to technology control regimes.

Paraphrasing futurologist Alvin Toffler’s famous statement “Yesterday violence was power, today wealth is power and tomorrow knowledge will be power”, Chidambaram, a former principal scientific adviser to the Government of India and ex-chairman, Department of Atomic Energy, said “today, more than at any time in history, ‘Technology is Power’ and this will continue to be so in the foreseeable future.”

“I said this because all the sources of power Toffler mentions have their foundations in technology. Technology domination is sought through the mechanisms of Intellectual Property Rights and Technology Control Regimes… And India should have the ambition to be the first introducer of new advanced technologies”, said Chidambaram in his address as chief guest of the National Science Day celebration at NIT Nagaland on Thursday.
Speaking on the topic ‘Science, technology and development’, Dr. Chidambaram who was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award in India in 1999, also said for India to become a knowledge-driven economy, the country should have the ability to develop new knowledge and the ability to appropriate knowledge developed in other countries.

“We need an advanced technology superstructure, but it cannot be built without the foundation of higher education and basic research (including what I have called ‘Directed Basic Research’). And we need leaders, scientific and political, who understand the ‘coherent synergy’ between technology development and basic research,” he said.

Expounding on ‘India of our Dreams’, Chidambaram said if India wants to become economically developed, scientifically advanced and militarily strong, then she should embrace the UN’s sustainable development goals, establish an excellent RDI Ecosystem, R&D-led Innovation backed by high-quality manufacturing skills. Asserting that national development and national security are two sides of the same coin, he said development without security is vulnerable and security without development is meaningless.

“We must remember that the greatest advantage of recognized strength is that you don’t have to use it. And that the greatest disadvantage of perceived weakness is that your enemy may get adventurist”, he added.
Chidambaram said dwelled on nuclear applications for sustainable development in sectors like food security and agricultural productivity, diagnosis radio therapy and nuclear medicine, food preservation & safety, water resources management, industry: safety and productivity, radiation processing for safety and value addition and radiography.

Stressing on the need for e-connectivity for inclusivity and knowledge sharing, he informed that the Indian National Knowledge Network, a multi-10s (to be enhanced to multi-100s) gigabit per second core optical-fibre backbone network, would connect 1600 knowledge institutions in the country.

The chief guest also unveiled the logo of the recently formed NIT Nagaland Science Society with its motto “Science for a reason, science for humanity.”

Chief scientific officer, Department of Science & Technology, Government of Nagaland, Dr. Zavei Hiese who graced the event as guest of honour highlighted on the scientific and allied activities of the Nagaland Science & Technology Council (NSTC) including detailed ground water survey of the entire state and GI registration of Naga indigenous vegetables and traditional attires. Established in 1999, he said the council has infrastructural facilities including bio tech lab, water quality testing lab, engineering wing, remote sensing and geo informatics lab and patent information centre.

Lauding NIT Nagaland for launching NIT Nagaland Science Society, Hiese impressed on the need to popularize science in other districts of the state and also urged for formation of a state level science society.

Earlier, director, NIT Nagaland, Dr. S. Venugopal, delivered welcome address and HoD (Science & Humanities), NIT Nagaland, Dr. JP Borah, gave a brief introduction about the formation of the Science Society.

Later in the afternoon, the students had an interactive session with Dr. Rajagopala Chidambaram and Dr. Zavei Hiese.

from The Morung Express
via The Morung Express