Development of science and technology in India after Independence.......................

 

Development of science and technology in India after Independence.
Science and Technology have always been an integral part of Indian culture. Natural philosophy, as it was termed in ancient times, was pursued vigorously at institutions of higher learning. 
The Indian Renaissance at the dawn of the 1900s, which coincided with the independence struggle, witnessed great strides made by Indian scientists.

After nearly two centuries of despotic British rule, India gained independence in 1947. The British left India as a poor, dependent, underdeveloped, socially, and economically backward nation. 

From humble beginnings, after independence, India made strides in science and technology.
It was the vision of Pandit Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India, and the need of India at that time that led to the foundation of the Indian Institute of Technology in 1950 after only three years of independence. These institutes, with assistance from international institutes, promoted research in India. Nehru aimed to inculcate the scientific temper among the Indians. As per Nehru, “Science was not merely an individual’s search for truth; it was something infinitely more than that if it worked for the community”. He also aimed “to convert India’s economy into that of a modern state, and to fit her into the nuclear age and do it quickly”. The Department of scientific research and natural resources was also set up by him. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) also expanded during this time due to the initiation of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, who is popularly known as the father of Indian research laboratories.

Investment in scientific research was 0.1 percent of GNP in 1947. It went up to 0.5 percent in less than a decade. Scientists like Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, Homi Jehangir Bhabha, and Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis not only built scientific institutions but also helped shape policies.
The Department of Science and Technology plays a pivotal role in the promotion of science and technology in the country.

The Indians who won the renowned prize include Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman for physics in 1930, Har Gobind Khorana in 1968 for physiology or medicine, Subrahmanyam Chandrasekhar for physics in 1983, and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan in 2009 for chemistry. 

In the past seven decades, India has built satellites and sent probes to the Moon and Mars, established nuclear power stations, acquired nuclear weapon capability, and demonstrated firepower in the form of a range of missiles. Undoubtedly, these are all fabulous achievements of Indian scientists and technologists.