A dialogue on ‘Science and Society’ at the Indian Science Congress

 

A dialogue on ‘Science and Society’ at the Indian Science Congress

Posted On: 06 JAN 2023 7:25PM by PIB Mumbai

New Delhi 06 Jan 2023

It is only when common people  enjoy the benefits of science and technology, will our society prosper in the true sense, said Dr.Shekhar  Mande, former Director of CSIR, in Nagpur at the 108th Indian Science Congress, organized at Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University.

On the fourth day of the Congress, a dialogue on 'Science and Technology’ was organized under the chairmanship of Dr.Vijaylakshmi Saxena, General Secretary, Indian Science Congress. The keynote speaker, Dr.Shekhar Mande, former Director of CSIR and Shivkumar Rao along with Dr. Subhash Chaudhari, Chancellor of Nagpur University, Dr.C.C.Handa and Dr. S. Ramkrishna, Co-ordinator, were among the dignitaries present at the event.  

Speaking at the event, Dr.Shekhar Mande said, “Science can help the progress of the society. At the time of independence, in 1947, about 25 thousand people were engaged in the leather industry. After science and technology induced many reforms in processing and production systems of this industry, we have become the largest exporter in this sector. Therefore, it is very necessary that common people get the chance to enjoy the benefits of science and technology."  Elaborating his point further, Dr.Shekhar said that flowers used in religious rituals are usually discarded in water bodies as nirmalya, which is not desirable. Instead, such flowers can be further processed to obtain perfumes, incense sticks,colours, etc.  An activity of similar nature has been initiated at  Shirdi and it has provided employment to nearly 5 thousand women. Moreover, another such project is underway in Nagpur city, he informed.

Nobel Laureate and senior scientist from Israel, Prof.Ada Yonath, made it a point to visit the event. She has always had an affection towards India. She has even worked with scientists in Chennai. She answered the questions asked by the audience and interacted with them.

On this occasion, Shivkumar Rao said that society is always the beneficiary of the developments in science and technology. There is a lot of scope for the  dairy and fishery business in Vidarbha. If provided with modern technology and diverse variety of fish, the fisheries sector will proliferate in the region. Similaly, improved small scale projects with facilities for storage and processing of milk will give boost to the dairy sector in the region, he added.

In her presidential address, Dr.Vijaylakshmi Saxena said that close relations between science, technology and society are necessary for sustainable development.