KANNUR: The contribution of India to science has been very disappointing since 1980 and this is evident from the number of scientific papers from the country indexed in the Science citation index, said Dr G R C Reddy, director of National Institute of Technology, Calicut (NITC).
Dr Reddy was delivering the valedictory address at the 19th Kerala Science Congress here on Wednesday.
"Our share of contribution to global research and development is just 1.58 percent and this reflects the health of the research in the country," Reddy said.
Detailing the nation's glorious achievements in the field of science from ancient times, he said Indians are by nature scientifically tempered and their skills were appreciated all over the world.
Quoting Andalusia, a noted Arab scholar, Dr. Reddy said, "India is the first nation to have cultivated science".
Our contributions to Mathematics are well known and this included the invention of zero and negative numbers, he said. But later, something happened that kept the country much behind the West, he said.
He said the recent achievements made by the country in the field of atomic energy and space give us much hope.
The launch of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C7) putting four satellites into orbit and the recovery of space capsule bear testimony to the country's maturity in science and technology, he said.
There is growing need to bring brilliant young people into science, he said pointing out that only one to two percent of our students are studying science.
Dr A E Muthunayagam, executive vice-president of KSCSTE, presided over the session. K Unnikrishnan Unnithan, member-secretary, presented a report. Prof R V G Menon addressed the session.
Prof M K Prasad distributed certificates to child-scientists.
Awards to the young scientists were presented by Dr A E Muthunayagam. Earlier, Prof M Haridas welcomed the gathering. Dr E J James proposed a vote of thanks.
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