Downgrading science, government style
29 September 2023 | Deccan Herald
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.”