Science Should Address Pressing Needs Of Common Man: Vice President At IISF 2020
The India International Science Festival 2020 concluded yesterday, on December 25. The IISF valedictory session was attended by the Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Union Minister of Science and Technology, Earth Sciences and Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan, Secretary DSIR, DG, CSIR Dr Shekhar C Mande and other dignitaries.
Addressing the concluding session of IISF 2020, the Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said: “Children have an inherent curiosity and how we channelize that curiosity is very important. If we encourage them to ask questions and think critically, they will become confident, self-assured, and fearless for the rest of their lives.”
In his address, the Vice President expressed happiness over the fact that India is on the verge of releasing its own indigenous COVID-19 vaccine. Mr Naidu also complimented the hard-working scientists who have made this possible.
Observing that false information on the nature of the coronavirus, medication and the vaccine has caused panic and anxiety among the people, Vice President Naidu said that this ‘infodemic' also reinforces the importance of scientific temper in our lives. Emphasizing that a citizen who thinks critically will be immune to such misinformation or fake news, he called for promoting the spirit of inquiry. “It is not vaccines or drugs that can defeat the ‘infodemic', but a rational outlook among people', he said.
“Don't push children to give answers. Instead nudge them to ask questions!”, Mr Naidu appealed to the parents and educators.
Calling for an end to rote learning, the Vice President said that students should be encouraged to ‘discover' rather than be ‘told'. He expressed happiness over an exclusive event on toys and games in the science festival and said that games and puzzles are an important component to nurture inquisitiveness and kindle creativity in children. He called for more research by designers and child psychologists in this area, a statement added.
The Vice President emphasized that an important lesson taught by this pandemic is that we need to invest and sustain R&D and strive to become self-reliant. Our space programme is a sterling example of how self-reliance can be achieved, he underlined.
Addressing IISF 2020 concluding session, Dr Harsh Vardhan said: “IISF 2020 was a means of science outreach. Idea was to rework the tried and tested approaches and make them unconventional and sometimes surprising”.
“This year's theme for IISF was very relevant considering that the entire planet earth has been threatened by the COVID19 pandemic which has taken away a million and a half lives and negatively impacted the lives of billions', Dr Harsh Vardhan said.
He further added: “In this hour of existential crisis for humankind, the most appropriate theme was chosen by the Indian scientific community - ‘Science for Atma Nirbhar Bharat and Global Welfare'.