NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY DAY

1. Context 

2. Key points

• On the iconic day of May 11, 1998, three very special technological advances were showcased by India's scientists and engineers Operation Shakti, also known widely as Pokhran-II nuclear tests; the successful test firing of the Trishul missile and the first flight of the indigenously developed aircraft Hansa.
• The euphoria of demonstrations of these technologies was such that the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee added "Jai Vigyan (Hail Science) to Lal Bahadur Shastri's Popular Slogan of "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan ( Hail the soldier and the farmer).

3. The Culture of Science

• The achievements of May 11, 1998, were founded on the progress of the past 51 years that India's Science and Technology (S&T) sector had made while also contributing significantly to the economy.
• The developments in S&T had already established India as a Pharmaceutical hub of the world, the Indian IT industry was gearing up to not only drive the world's IT-enabled services but also soon drive the digital growth of the country and it appeared that soon, India would break into the world's top economies.
• Vajpayee's push for economic growth led by S&T is reflected in many of his speeches. For example, during a Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award ceremony, he said, Friends, all of us know that the creation of scientific and technological knowledge and the development of its practical, applications, is highly capital intensive.
• Not only does it involve significant and sustained investment in infrastructure, equipment and raw materials, but also a long-term effort to build and retain top-class brainpower.
• However, every rupee invested in indigenous R&D repays itself several times over in direct and indirect ways.
• Prominent examples of the last point include the development of indigenous varieties of rice by modern and classical methods, which are yielding hundreds of thousands of crores of rupees in international trade.
• This point needs to be emphasised over and over again to contemporary policymakers and bureaucracy, lest we forget the importance of the fundamentals of economic growth led by S &T.

4.  After Pokhran

• Since 1998, the country has continued steadily in its journey of technological development. 
• Among the visible examples of India's impactful technological progress are the digital payment gateways that have democratised financial transactions like never before and exemplify India's leadership in the world in this area.
• Lesser-known milestones that have quietly been achieved are the making of indigenous BioJet Fules, mapping of subsurface water channels for sustainable use of water, making of indigenous light combat aircraft, development of a variety of crops by traditional methods of breeding, digitisation of many aspects of the trade and moving firmly towards a Hydrogen economy.
• The recent push for infrastructural development, including the promotion of the use of domestic and industrial waste in it and its spectacular results, is already making headlines.
• By steadily reducing energy dependence on natural resources and by promoting renewable energy, India is already in the League of Nations where its carbon footprint in the energy sector is likely to reduce dramatically.

5. Challenges

• In many areas, including urban infrastructure and planning, containing air, water and soil pollution, slowing down rural to urban migrations, diversification of agricultural produce, judicious use of water resources and promotion of AI/ML technologies in all industrial segments.
• India's S&T community is expected to address these challenges to meet the aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians and realise the dream of "Amrit Kaal".
• Among the concerns widely quoted in holding back India's S&T ecosystem is the lack of adequate investments by private industries in R&D.
• The total expenditure on R&D, approximately 0.6 per cent of its GDP, is almost entirely contributed by public funds.
• Inadequate involvement by state governments in S&T is also a matter of Concern.
• Maharashtra for example, contributes close to 15 per cent of the country's GDP but spends a mere fraction of it on S&T.
• Moreover, private industries' attempt to work in collaboration with academia is typically viewed under the scanner of "inappropriate" practices, which not only hampers the work undertaken but also discourages government-supported researchers from undertaking any collaborative work with industries.
• Appropriate frameworks are urgently needed so that collaborations between industry and academia are facilitated at a rapid pace.
• Finally, the time of execution of projects is a luxury that must be shed immediately if we are to accelerate growth led by S&T.
• If India's ambitions of leading the world into a sustainable future, where all human beings live peacefully and in harmony with nature, were to realise, reforms in the bureaucratic system for the management of S&T are an immediate necessity.