PM calls on Indian scientists to think “out of the box”

Prime minister, Manmohan Singh, today said that Indian scientists needed to think "out of the box" for the advancement of science and innovations in the country.

Addressing the Indian Science Congress in Chennai today, Singh said, " The time has come for Indian science to once again think big; think out of the box; and think ahead of the times.

The time has come for India to produce the Ramans and Ramanujans of the 21st Century.''

"Science should be used for the betterment of the lives of the people," he said.

Singh urged the scientific community to devote its energies to identify the strategies that help the country realise its true potential. He said, "Unless we strengthen the base of our science education system, we cannot attain the height of the pyramid of excellence."

"If the country is to reap the full benefits of spending on scientific research and reach the fruits to the common man, then the link between the universities where research takes place and the industry that uses the results of the research to make products of mass use must be strengthened in the country," he said.