If a country is to thrive economically and politically, it’s imperative to incorporate science-led development in its agenda. Cultural values – an inevitable necessity for a society’s pluralism – can only be drummed into the minds of bureaucrats and the masses if there’s a serenity in the atmosphere. Jobs for graduates play an important role in this.
First, let’s start from the issue of education and proceed on to the question of scientific development. Education, as we all know, rationalises a child, liberalises their thought processes and is supposed to imbibe cultural values in them. Ergo, the spending on the education (as a percentage of the GDP) should be significant. But for India, the case is different. We spend less than 3% of our GDP on education. Not surprisingly, the rotting state of the education sector is becoming more and more depressing, even though a large number of steps have been taken so far.
A child develops their understanding of a subject from the rudimentary level and continues to build on it, class by class. Later, their advanced knowledge serves the best interests of their country. But if they do not gain a good education and start stumbling as soon as they step on the doorway to their future, the outcome isn’t exactly conducive.
Research And Development
Research and development (R&D) is one of the bedrocks for a country’s science-based advancement. So, ideally, the R&D sector too should be given a significant amount of attention. Contributions from the GDP are also important. Yet, India’s spending on R&D is only about 0.7% of its GDP. On the other hand, look at the figures of China (2.1%), the US (2.8), Israel (4.3%) and Korea (4.2%)!
With such a low contribution, how can we go about developing our nation? Nanotechnology, for instance, seems to be the cynosure of all eyes, and both developed and developing countries are craving it. We can also do something for it like – for example, researching on the development of a hydrophobic coating that resists water and pollutants on the coated area. In the process, we can take a giant leap towards becoming a developed country.
In biotechnology too, we can go nano, working on cancers and tumors without touching other cells. An extensive research scan also be done on ‘clean coal technology’.
Still, there are challenges that often lead to gnawing doubts. The scenario even makes me think if ‘science-led development’ is simply a figment of the imagination of us Indians. On the other hand, by adopting such researches we stand to create not just employment but also a developed economy, polity, and a developed country overall.
“Science is a beautiful gift to humanity, we should not distort it.” – APJ Abdul Kalam
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Featured image used for representative purposes only.