Downgrading science, government style

Two recent government decisions that have a bearing on the management and promotion of science have invited much criticism. One is the decision announced by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) to pull out of the 2024 edition of the annual Indian Science Congress, and the other is the scrapping of the cash component of the prestigious Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Award. The Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) has been holding its annual gathering of scientists for over a century. Since Independence, it has always been inaugurated by the Prime Minister, a tradition set by Jawaharlal Nehru, the pre-eminent moderniser, as a message to the nation of the importance of science. Its next congress was to be held in Lucknow University in January 2024, but the ISCA shifted the venue to Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar, after Lucknow University withdrew from it. The DST has cited the absence of government permission for shifting the venue and alleged “financial irregularities” to dissociate from the event. The DST has also said that “the ISCA annual event has lost its relevance among the scientific community and lacks a professional approach.” 

The ISCA is an autonomous organisation and it never had to take permission from the government to choose a venue for its session. The venue is selected on the recommendation of a committee. The government’s decision is meant to erode the autonomy of scientific institutions. The ISCA has challenged the decision in court claiming government interference in the organisation of the event. It is true that the standard of deliberations at science congress gatherings have declined but it would be wrong to blame the ISCA for it. Rather, the government must look within. Its decision must be seen in the context of the support it has given since 2015 to a parallel conference called the India International Science Festival in collaboration with Vijnana Bharati, a non-government body that seeks to promote “swadeshi sciences”. 

The Bhatnagar awards have been the country’s best-known and highly regarded awards for excellence in various fields of science since 1958. The latest edition of these prizes was announced after a year’s delay and have been given away, but the government decided to do away with the cash component of the award. It has also cut down the number of awards and announced a new set of them. The awards used to carry a cash component of Rs 5 lakh. It was scrapped on the ground that scientists do not need a cash prize and should do their work for the love of science. This is a wrong view. All important science awards in the world carry a financial component. It is an honour and an incentive, and the government is wrong to deny it to scientists.