This year’s Indian
Science Congress, the 95th held for a week in Visakhapatnam starting on 3rd of January 2008, heard the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh with rapt attention when he announced the Indian Government’s plans to fund 30
new Central Universities, five new Indian Institutes of Science
Education and Research, eight new Indian Institutes of Technology, and 20 new Indian Institutes of Information Technology. In addition 1,600 polytechnics, 10,000 vocational schools and 50,000 skill development centers are being planned in next five years. One million
school children will receive science innovation
scholarships of 5,000
rupees (US$130) each over the next five years, and 10,000 scholarships of 100,000 rupees per year will go to those enrolling on science degree courses. Discipline-specific education programmes will be launched in strategic sectors such as nuclear and space sciences “to capture talent at the school leaving stage itself”.
It is expected that these schemes will attract students and replenish government agencie's shrinking pool of scientific personnel. “This agenda can no longer wait. The time has come for action, and I assure you of my highest personal commitment.” The Prime Minister also said that a plan for implementing the proposals will be devised in the next six months. (Published online 9 January 2008 | Nature 451, 112 (2008) | doi:10.1038/451112b ) DNBhatnagar