Consequent on the attainment of National Independence of India in 1947 certain basic developmental issues were posed to the national political leadership. These pertain to socio-economic objectives, strategy, policies & programme for eradicating the social ravages of 190 years of colonial rule. The task was a gigantic one & required not only a sound ideology, imaginative leadership, but also scientific way of thinking and managing the State and The Economy.

Some of these philosophical desiderata must have acted behind the evolution of National Science Policy Resolution (N.S.P.R) passed by Indian Parliament in 1958 under the able guidance of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. By this time, India had already embarked on the framing and application of National Five Year Plan (F.Y.P) and Prof. P. C. Mahalanabis was piloting the second F.Y.P. which served as the bulwark of basic industrialisation, on the one hand and rural and crafts development, on the other.

CONTENTS :

The progressive leadership of Pandit Nehru could view science & technology as a high priority instrument for eradicating the colossal mass-poverty and unemployment in the country. Modern world development vouchsafes the sagacious statement of the S.P.R. that is, technology and technology alone with Natural Resources and political will of the people determines the content and speed of national economic development. Of course, far from becoming universal property of man, technology has been, by now, monopolised by big powers and multinationals to dominate the world. Nehru could envisage this global constraint for the resurgence of the developing countries, hence, highlighted the role of State in generating, adapting, utilising & diffusing technology for changing the quality of life of Indian masses. The S.P.R. pinpointed the following developmental aspects :

1. In order to remove, in the short run, the colonial scourge of cultural & scientific backwardness and to catch up immediately scientific and technological (S & T) developmental level of the West, the State should commit itself to generating resources, uplifting scientific manpower through training and education & build up linkages with other policy areas like industry, education, foreign trade etc.
2. To build up priorities in the development of different areas in S&T, giving preference to the basic sciences and industrial research has to be evolved with the help of scientific community.
3. To create infrastructure for intensive research and development like building scientific institutions, sophisticated scientific instruments, library facilities, creation of scientific temper and generation of administrative support should be organised by the State.
4. Scientists should be given all sorts of incentives (academic, financial, material etc.) and international scientific collaboration should be encouraged.
5. In-house research for the industries should be developed, so that the nexus between the creation of new know-how and their application is enhanced.

The social and political implications of the Science Policy Resolution are meant to overcome the colonial scars and building a self-reliant, free, vibrant and prosperous India built on the ashes of colonial denudation.

IMPACT :

The two decades of 60s & 70s witnessed comparatively, rapid upsurge of education, research and developmental efforts in the country. The great institutions under I.C.A.R. contributed to the ushering in the Green Revolution and a moderate to high rise in productivity of agricultural produces. Fifty and odd National Laboratories under C.S.I.R. thrived with talented and committed scientists rendering unique services to the area of development of Steel and Coal Industry, pesticides & insecticides, drug industries, communication industries like T.V., agricultural implements like Tractor & variety of consumer goods industries like food, clothing, leather etc. Thousands of engineering & technical educational institutions at all levels spread throughout the country unfolded the potentials of economic regeneration of our motherland. The country was almost on the threshold of a self-reliant take-off stage of socio-economic development. Technology based industries like B.H.E.L. and other precision instrument producing units, heavy engineering industries were built up and the nationalised sector encompassing coal, steel, electricity, fertiliser were almost commanding the heights of the economy by utilising technology, both indigenous and foreign. India has made great strides in the area of Space, Atomic Energy, Electronics and Armaments research. Highly talented and expert scientific and technological personnel are available in plenty in the country. India’s contribution in information technology has reached a pinnacle of glory. Well-known consultancy, service units have been internationally competitive and India is being considered as 10th Industrial Nation of the World. Thus the direction and process posited by S.P.R. was showing the desired way and produced significant results for the nation, as a whole.

Later on, the technology policy statement (1978) of the Govt. of India took into consideration the vital impact of S.P.R. in the formulation & execution of economic policy of Govt. of India and extended its concept further. The Technology Policy Statement (T.P.S) accepted the need of import of vitally needed foreign technology but emphasised on the crucial role of its absorption i.e., understanding the sciences behind a technology, appreciate them and apply the results through adaptation in our indigenous situation. The absorption process would further help in the generation of newer innovations. Japan’s strategy in building up absorptive technology through massive Research and Development (R & D) expenditure is a case in point.

PERSPECTIVES :

By 1980 the spirit of S.P.R. is highly diluted replacing gradually the concept of self-reliance in economic & technological development. There is an attempt to denigrate the achievements in the field of basic and infrastructural industries by following a policy of so-called Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation (LPG). The new economic policy is enunciated in 1991 aimed at according a secondary role for Indian economy, technology and science to the onslaught of multinational companies and western powers.

Following the role of subjugation of S & T there has been hardly any renewal process for initiating a debate on the impact of S.P.R. during the last 40 years & the possible perspective it could have opened up.

In 1993 there was a feeble endeavour by the Dept. of Science and Technology, Govt. of India to initiate a countrywide debate on the basis of a draft paper for determining a new technology policy.