Ansari emphasises on superior scientific prowess

Vice-President launches JSS Science and Technology varsity in Mysuru

Vice-President M Hamid Ansari on Saturday said that India should become a science innovation hub to achieve technological self-sufficiency and devise local solutions to the problems like poverty, agricultural productivity, water conservation and climate change.

He was addressing the gathering after inaugurating the JSS Science and Technology University in the city.

“An environment conducive to dissent and critical thinking — challenging established knowledge and dogmas — is required to pursue bigger questions in science and encourage innovation. Criticism is the basis of all advancement in science and this approach precludes imposition of any ideology,” the Vice President said.

He said that the country cannot hope to become a great power without a qualitatively superior scientific and technological prowess. “India needs more and better innovations in order to remain competitive for faster, sustainable and inclusive growth. Building of a science-based, innovative and developed society requires development of a scientific temper among the general public, a focus on the study of the basic sciences for meeting our domestic requirements and a conducive environment, where enquiry and evidence form the basis of rational choices. The value of scientific temper as the basis of all social interaction was well understood in India and it was enshrined in the Constitution,” he added.

Ansari said, “Science is deepening the human understanding of the universe, while technology is anything that enhances human capacity. To share a benevolent cycle, a better understanding of the universe allows us to improve technology and as our technology improves, so does our ability to understand the universe.”