Tamil Nadu - Chennai

“India must set its own research agenda”

CHENNAI: When India was considered just another developing country, the priorities for bilateral scientific research projects were determined by the developed nation partner. As India establishes itself as an emerging power, that needs to change, National Scientific Advisor R. Chidambaram has said.

“We just cooperated with whatever they wanted. They set the agenda…Today, India must set its own agenda according to its own strategic interests,” he said. “We must learn to leverage international cooperation.”

Dr. Chidambaram said that with a growing pool of young talent and a research cost that is at least a quarter the rate in more developed countries, the advantage was with India. “I keep telling the Americans on the nuclear issue, ‘We need you in the short term, but you’re going to need us in the long term’,” he said.

It was the same situation for several other sectors, too. To set the agenda, the Indian scientific establishment must direct its research towards areas of long-term interest for Indian industry and society, and national strategic interests, he said, speaking at the launch of an Indo-Australian research project to protect critical infrastructure from denial of service attacks.

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