Scientific research should work to improve lives: Naidu

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today said scientists should undertake research projects that can help improve the lives of people.

Scientific research should go to the root of any problem and work towards the betterment of the lives of the people, he said in his address at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP) here.

Referring to the institute's multi-disciplinary project related to cancer cells and therapeutic strategies, Naidu said, "This project is the need of the hour as so many people die of cancer. Early detection and isolation of the cell will be useful in containing the disease."

The vice president also lauded the 'Vigyan Pratibha' programme launched by SINP on July 31, 2017, to train and motivate school students from class 8 onwards to become scientists.

Chanting 'Jai Vigyan (science), Jai Jawan (soldier) and Jai Kisan (farmer)', Naidu stressed that every citizen of the country should be proud of the sacrifices and contributions of scientists, jawans and farmers.

Expressing happiness on his visit to SINP, Naidu said the institute was founded by Professor Meghnad Saha - a great astrophysicist, visionary and science reformer.

Saha was the first person in the country to start a course in nuclear physics in 1938, Naidu said, adding that his "visionary genius" was evident in his plans to build a cyclotron.

"It is truly remarkable that the construction of the cyclotron began in 1941, long before the foundation of the Department of Atomic Energy by the government of India in 1954," he said.

"After 1940, the rapid growth of nuclear physics in the world inspired professor Saha to propose an independent institute with a close link to the university and this is the genesis of the institute," the vice president said tracing back SINP's journey.

He said the Institute of Nuclear Physics was founded in 1949, which was later renamed as SINP after Saha's death in 1956.

Naidu said he was happy to know that SINP was "now setting up a facility for Research in Experimental Nuclear Astrophysics (FRENA) which will unravel some more mysteries of the universe."

During his visit, Naidu interacted with scientists, visited the laboratories and unveiled a plaque of FRENA at the campus.