Promoting S&T in rural India - challenges and plausible solutions

Abstract

Lack of science and technology (S&T) education and research amenities is the root cause of rural backwardness resulting in villages being treated as 'colonies' for urban goods. Although tremendous strides have been made in S&T in post-independence India, development is mainly focused on creating big S&T institutions and upgrading S&T infrastructure in major cities ('big science', macro-S&T). Rural India, which still accounts for 70% of the nation's population, has been grossly ignored. There is an urgent need to implement the notion of 'small science' (micro-S&T) tailored for the rural sector to make villagers self-reliant. A beginning could be made by aggressively promoting outreach programmes in modern science education and research for young village students. Also, steps should be taken to establish a number of modest Rural Institute of Science Education and Research (sort of mini-IISER) spread all over the country with the ultimate goal of 'science for all'. In the present setting, competition between rural and urban youth is uneven and unjust. It is time we provide villagers a level playing field and take them on board as equal partners. This is the only way to prevent emergence of two sub-nations 'Bharat' and 'India'.