Simple solution: Need more moolah

Charles Assisi / TNN / Jan 1, 2007, 03:40 IST

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After a few hiccups in the early part of this decade, research has finally started trickling out of Indian labs, particularly in biotechnology, life sciences and computing.

Except the rare ode to Aryabhatt and Ayurveda, there used to be little to write home about when it came to Indian science. After years of being condemned to the boondocks though, things don't look as bleak anymore.
After a few hiccups in the early part of this decade, research has finally started trickling out of Indian labs, particularly in biotechnology, life sciences and computing.
Take Reliance Life Sciences. A cursory look at the patents it has filed for indicates significant work on the stem cell lines it owns. The outcome of this work could eventually translate into breakthroughs for diseases like Alzheimer's.
With ethical issues in the First World constricting stem cells research there, India has emerged as a serious player in the field.

Then there are pha-rma companies like Dr Reddy's.
In spite of setbacks, the company is pushing ahead with trials on new drugs. One of them, the company says, can keep hypertension, cholesterol and diabetes under check.
Whether it makes the cut finally or not remains to be seen. But the point is, they are pushing the boundaries.
And it isn't the big boys alone that are pushing. There are smaller ones like the little-known IITIAM Systems in Bangalore. Many of the ubiquitous MP3 players are powered by software created at IITIAM Systems.

Add to all of this the kind of work being produced by the India labs of dozens of companies like Microsoft, Intel, Yahoo, Google, Amazon and IBM.
Many of the patents filed by these multinationals are based on work done in this country. A good part of Intel's latest chip Intel Core 2 Duo was designed out of Bangalore. The new versions of Yahoo's instant messenger were coded in India.
Not so surprisingly, the best of Indian science today is coming out of private enterprise. Arrogance. What else explains a lie that continues to do the rounds as an email, especially before the Independence Day.
It claims, 12% of all scientists in the US are Indian, 34% (or some such obscene number) of technical personnel at NASA are of Indian origin, 32% of Microsoft's engineers are from here, and so on.
The message was so pretty, it even found its way into parliamentary debate on India's capabilities. Business leaders quoted these figures while addressing seminars.
The truth is, about 5% of NASA's employees are of Asian descent (Indians being a subset of this group). A senior official at Microsoft grins rather
condescendingly when you ask him the truth. As for Indian doctors tending to all of America, well, all we can say is that the Indian inferiority complex that spreads these myths needs urgent cure.
For a dose of reality, consider this. According to Thomson Scientific which tracks scientific papers from across the world, between 1999 and 2003, 86,440 papers had at least one author address in India.
The highest percentage of these papers appeared in journals classified in the field of agricultural sciences. Also, the relative impact of published research from India registered below the world average.
Take this arrogance away and what you are left with is apathy. This year's budget for science and technology research is $4.5 billion. Optimists say it is a 16% increase over the last year. Realists call it peanuts.

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