BENGALURU: In 2003, when Prof Ajay Kumar Sood and his team at the IISc-Bengaluru created history when they generated electricity by passing liquid or gas through carbon nanotubes, Sood never imagined that he would one day become the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the government.‘‘Posts, appointments, awards and accolades are milestones, and not targets in a scientist’s life. We don’t work for anything other than science itself,” Sood said after his appointment as the PSA.
Regarding his new role as the country’s top scientist, he said that he was ‘humbled’ and felt ‘privileged’ to get the opportunity to contribute to the science and technology ecosystem.
‘‘I look forward to accelerating the existing scientific temperament, and bringing India on the first top three countries in the world in the field of science and technology. We have the best brains and the potential to be on the top. We must rise to the occasion,” said the distinguished physicist and Padmashree awardee.
He added that a country can make progress only if it is strong in science and technology. ‘‘We have seen the speed of progress that the country has made in the management of Covid-19 pandemic and vaccine development. There was a strong foundation of decades of medical research and basic science behind it.”
Talking about the road map to increase scientific temperament and advancement, Sood said India has pockets of scientific excellence, which need to be expanded. ‘‘There should be many more such centres and greater synergy between academia and industry. We must motivate students, researchers to come out with scientific breakthroughs. We should see many more research papers from scientists in India getting published in international journals of repute,” said the new PSA, who will assume charge on April 25.
Regarding India’s commitment towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 as announced by Prime Minister Modi at COP26 in Glasgow last year, Sood said that the PSA’s office has already initiated discussions to launch a strong mission on hydrogen economy and Electric Vehicles (EVs) that have a direct impact on sustainable growth.