‘Need academia, industry interface to boost research’

Indore: India has advanced to such stage that the country seeks international collaboration only on ‘equal partnership’ basis, Dr R Chidambaram, former principal scientific adviser to Prime Minister and proponent of India’s nuclear tests at Pokharan said.
“India is the only country in the world which has made nuclear weapons by itself without seeking nuclear knowledge from any other major nation.India was making nuclear reactors under the leadership of Homi Bhabha when the country wasn’t even producing its own cycles,” Chidambaram said glorifying India’s scientific leaps in the past.
He also said that in India, universities had good research and development of ideas. There must be academia-industries interface so that firms promote research and universities ensure their research is delivered as a successful venture.
“The country generally has three parameters of success - GDP, per capita income and adult literacy rate. This should be replaced by just two parameters - female adult literacy ratio and per capita electricity consumption - which would give the idea of not just economy but also social status of the country,” Chidambaram said.
Chidambaram along with other speakers was invited on last day of World Business and Economy Congress at Sage University. Nutritionist Geeta Dharmatti defined healthy eating habits as homemade meals taken five days a week and not relying on packed foods to quench appetite. Swami Anubhanand Saraswati urged people to learn from experience and remain happy from within to spread happiness.
Motivational speaker from Delhi Vijay Batra suggested ways on how to remain happy and seize opportunities in life. He said that visiting a temple or any religious place for asking anything should not be the sole reason, and that cultivating such a habit increased value of commitment in an individual.