THIRUVANANTHAPURMA: Scientific research in India needs to be society-oriented and institutions involved in R&D should undergo social audits to function more effectively, said V N Rajasekharan Pillai, executive vice-president of the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE).
“Indian science must work towards regaining the eminent global status it enjoyed during the early decades of the last century,” he said while inaugurating the celebrations held here in connection with National Science Day.
Science is no longer perceived as a collection of insular disciplines, Pillai said.
Dr N P Kurien, Director, Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS), said in his presidential address that science needs to be promoted at the grassroots level. Our education system needs to refocus on basic sciences, he said.
Others who spoke on the occasion included Prof C G Ramachandran Nair, former STEC chairman; Prof D Joseph Francis, former University of Kerala Professor; Kerala State Science and Technology Museum Director Arul Jerald Prakash; National Green Corps District Coordinator K G Ajit Kumar; noted science educator C P Aravindakshan; KSCSTE Joint Director V Ajit Prabhu and KSCSTE Scientific Officer Binuja Thomas.