Dr. Kishore Paknikar

Science can set ambitious goals and justify public investment, but the most important discoveries are often the ones no research proposal could have predicted. Voyager 1 had a defined mission, but its journey ultimately took humanity farther than its original destination. Discovery, by definition, is about finding something we do not yet know. Yet scientists are often asked to say in advance what their research will produce. Proposals ask for outcomes, deliverables, milestones and anticipated...

We often ask whether a scientist has enough funding, equipment, students and laboratory space. We rarely ask whether the scientist has enough security, belonging, recognition, freedom and purpose. Yet the second set of needs may ultimately determine what the first set produces. After all, a scientist is also a human being. Behind every publication, patent and discovery is a person who needs health, rest, relationships, security, appreciation and meaning. Scientific passion does not repeal...

India cannot become a scientific power by funding laboratories while burdening scientists with the very bureaucracy that prevents them from using them effectively. Indian science presents a curious paradox. We celebrate our scientists for achieving remarkably good results with limited resources. But how much more could they achieve if they did not also have to spend so much time and energy dealing with the system? This question came to my mind while reading NITI Aayog’s recently released...