Vice President Venkaiah Naidu today stressed the need for better science communication in regional languages to reach out to people in their mother tongue and to inculcate a scientific temper among them. Recalling that the Constitution lists ‘developing scientific temper and the spirit of inquiry’ in people as a fundamental duty, the Vice President called for increased efforts to popularise science through books, TV shows and radio broadcasts.
Reflecting on the impact of technology like artificial intelligence on people’s lives, VP Naidu said science discourse now must become more inclusive and democratic. He called upon the scientific community to take the advancements in their fields closer to the people, suggesting they have a scientific social responsibility or SSR, akin to corporate social responsibility.
The Vice President inaugurated a year-long celebration of birth centenaries of Indian scientists, organised by Vigyan Prasar, Department of Science & Technology, on National Mathematics Day today. National Mathematics Day is celebrated each year on November 22, marking the birth anniversary of the legendary Indian mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan.
Recalling the contributions of Ramanujan, Naidu emphasised that it is our duty to recognise the contributions of Indian scientists and mathematicians to nation-building. “We must recount their inspirational stories to our youngsters and encourage them to take up careers in science”, he added.
Naidu paid tributes to the six scientists whose birth centenary Vigyan Prasar is celebrating – Har Gobind Khorana, G N Ramachandran, Yelavarthy Nayudamma, Balasubramaniam Ramamurthi, G S Laddha and Rajeshwari Chatterjee – who were all born in 1922. He said that even though they were not provided adequate freedom, respect, and space to conduct their scientific studies under colonial rule, they showed indomitable spirit in their scientific endeavour. Naidu called upon educational institutions in the country to celebrate the lives and achievements of the six scientists in this calendar year.
