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democracy was a wonder to the world, which thought India would be plunged into chaos after the British left.
About two decades after independence, despite our numerous achievements, doubts emerged about our ability to handle our system on our own. Many of our vital socio economic and even military sectors began to have a greater dependence on foreign sources for innovation or technology. Selfreliance and commitment to science and technology were the declared policies, but often crucial economic and industrial decisions were based on technology imports or licensed production, both in the private and public sectors.
s.p.a.ce research and a few others areas developed more as islands of confidence rather than as movements for developing core industrial and technological competencies.
Therefore, around the late "70s and the "80s, a diffidence to take major initiatives had begun to set in, though there are some remarkable examples of facing challengers too, be it by launching a few technology mission or in establishing inst.i.tutions like CDot (Center for Development of Telemetric) Faced with this unusual combination of growing dependency with a few bold successes, a unique inst.i.tution called the Technology Information. Forecasting and a.s.sessment Council (TIFAC) was born in 1988. Its major task was to look ahead at the technologies emerging worldwide, and should be promoted. In its tasks, TIFAC networked various stakeholders: the government, industries, users, scientific and technological inst.i.tutions, financial inst.i.tutions and intellectuals.
TIFAC also studied the ideas of several Indian visionaries in the field of technology and the plans of various organizations. Over a period of years it produced several reports suggesting. What India should do to a.s.sume leadership in areas like sugar, Leather ,steel, biotechnology or manufacturing. It did not stop Merely at studies but also attempted to make the stakeholders take action. A few major government supported technology missions with strong industry partic.i.p.ation were an outcome of these activities.
All these were good initiatives successfully undertaken in Exceptionally difficult situations .Though laudable , however, They did not go far enough in the
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context of a big country like India seeking to fulfill her true potential .This was uppermost. In the minds of concerned Indians.
Technology vision 2020 It is against this background that the TIFAC governing council met on 24 November 1993 with its forty members drawn from industry , R&D establishments , academic inst.i.tutions ,government departments and financial inst.i.tutions and debated how TIFAC could contribute to national development .An intense discussion took place about India "s past and present technological performance and what could be feasible in the future .In the midst of the discussion one of the TIFAC council members posed a very interesting question ."Mr. chairman , we all have to address one issue :India today , almost fifty years since 1947,is branded a developing country . what will make the country a developed nation?"
Everyone present realized that therein lay the crux of the problem and to arrive at he answer to the question became. The agenda .two council meetings were held to discuss the means to arrive at the answer .It was realized that technology. Is the highest wealth generator in the shortest possible period. If it is deployed in the right direction .Technology strengthens. The political, economic and security structure of the nation .
For India ,technology had to be the vision for the future.
Technology can help transform multiple areas such as education and training ,agriculture and food processing, strategic industries and infrastructure in various fields .
It is on this basis that the task forces and panels of the technology Vision 2020 were const.i.tuted.
India"s needs core competencies India"s are very clear : to remove the poverty of our millions as speedily as possible ,say before 2020to provide health for all to provide good education and skills for all to provide employment opportunities for all to be a net exporter and to be self reliant in national security and build up capabilities to sustain and improve on all these in the future .How can India meet these needs ?To be able to chart out the possible paths towards this end , an a.s.sessment of India"s core competencies is a prerequisite.
What is a core competency? put simply , it means that in certain areas we have some inherent strengths whereby we can show a much better output and better results in
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shorter time . In the final a.n.a.lysis , any group of people in any given locale and under any condition can accomplish what they really want to. But there are certain things which they can do much better given the same will and effort ,either due to a more enabling environment or due to better experience .These ,then ,are country"s core competencies.
There have been a number of debates on the existence of core competencies in India :some backed by informed opinion and others charged with strong emotion. This is because India is a vat country with different regions having different strengths and weaknesses . There are also different types of people :some with the best of education ,training, exposure and experience . There are many less fortunate ones with average educational opportunities and work experience . There are many unfortunate ones for whom survival on a day to day basis takes up all their attention they have few skills and very little opportunity . such problems need not overwhelm us . An objective appraisal shows that less fortunate Indians too have shown the ability to absorb new techniques and skills and also methods of functioning. In the early years after independence the rapid growth of the economy was due to our innate ability. Our people learnt new agricultural practices many learnt to work in factories and various public service activities. An improved educational base helped them better absorb the new approaches and knowledge . Despite the appalling state of female illiteracy , it is also a fact that a large number of women from all walks of life adjusted to new forms of economic activity .
It is clear that the major technological and industrial achievements of our country have come about through the endeavors of thousands of young women and men who have studied in "ordinary" schools and colleges in different parts of India .Not all of the few million persons of Indian origin who live and work in different parts of the world are from the Indian inst.i.tute of technology or other prestigious inst.i.tutes. They are from the "ordinary" inst.i.tutions of India. There are doctors , engineers. technicians ,nurses, artists, writers, journalists, accountants, clerks , teachers and various kinds of professionals and others in the workforce. Even the recent Indian software miracle is the making of a large number of "ordinary" young women and men , who may not be able to
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talk fluently in English , but can understand instruction manuals and master computer operations well enough to enable them to stand up to global compet.i.tion .
One thing then is crystal clear :India"s human resource base is one of its great competencies . It is India"s strength . if we can train unskilled Indian , if we can impart better skills to a skilled Indian and if we create a more challenging environment for the educated , as well as build avenues for economic activity in agriculture , industry and the service sectors , these Indians will not only meet the targets but excel them . The technology vision doc.u.ments advocate the formation of a human resource cadre that will be the foundation of the action packages for the country in the near future. Such a cadre will lead us to economic achievements.
Indians not only have a great learning capability but most of them also have an entrepreneurial and compet.i.tive spirit . today, there are not enough avenues to chandelier this spirit constructively and productively . That is what we should aim for .
Naturally the vision products several elements that capitalize on this vital resource of India . The details of the emphasis vary from sector to sector , whether it is agrofood or materials or biotechnology or strategic industries , and into account both socioeconomic needs and the complexities of the technologies involved .
Another core strength of India is its natural resource base. Though India may not have rich deposits of all the ores and minerals , or of a uniformly high quality , it has abundant supplies of most them . We have good ores of steel and aluminum. We have abundant supplies of ores of the wonder metal t.i.tanium and several rare earth materials , though we have not used them effectively . we have a vast coastline which stores many more resources and energy supplies . They are the strengths of our future as we use more of the land resources .undersea resources are yet to be explored.
In addition to these , we have an excellent base for living resources: very rich biodiversity abundant sunshine varied agroclimatic conditions, almost a microcosm of the globe, form arctic cold to tropical green to tropical green to bare deserts and plenty of rain fall, though we do not tap it effectively. To ill.u.s.trate: if the annual rainfall all over India were evenly spread over the country , the water would exceed one meter in depth. If only we could tap such largesse! India"s technology
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vision 2020 is built around its natural resource base, its vast human resource base and the core competencies of the nation.
The generation of the vision how was it done?
It is difficult to recapitulate all the details of the mammoth exercises done by the task TIFAC.
forces and panels. In Appendix 1 we list the names of chairpersons and cochairpersons . there were about 500 persons active in the panels and task forces.
Many moreabout 5000 partic.i.p.ated through responses to questionnaires, or with written or oral inputs. Many others who did not respond to the questionnaires later said that it was an excellent exercise and the questions had set them thinking. They wished they had asked those questions themselves in the context of their business or other activates.
Keeping in mind India"s needs. Core strengths and competencies, the focus was on the crucial sectors. They were agrofood processing, road transportation, civil aviation, waterways, electric power, telecommunications, advanced sensors, engineering industries, electronics and communications, materials and processing, chemical processing industries, food and agriculture, life sciences and biotechnology, healthcare, strategic industries, and services. All these panels and task forces also considered the driving forces and impending factors in their own areas and provided suggestions for speedy action. In addition, there was a special panel on Driving Forces and Impediments.
The following paragraphs extracted and adapted from a few TIFAC doc.u.ments describe both the objectives and methodology.
(a) provide directions for national initiatives in science and technology to realize a vision for India upto 2020 (b) provide a strong basis for policy framework and investment for R&D in the government and the private sectorand (c) contribute to the development of an integrated S&T policy both at the stae and national levels.
The major longterm national a.s.sessment and forecasting exercise was contributed into seventeen panels and task forces. Of these, ten were headed
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by experts from industry, five from R&D inst.i.tutions and two from the government. Each task force has a chairperson, a cochairperson and a coordinator.
The studies employed various techniques of forecasting like brainstorming sessions, preparation of perspective and scenario reports, Delphi rounds, nominal group technique some cases, subsequent workshops, etc. (see fig 3.1).
The task forces and panels addressed the following questions: .
Are there areas where India has a strong technology base?
What are the technologies which can dramatically change Indian social or economic conditions or which have specified advantages?
What are the spinoffs from the technologies developed?
What is the focus on inhouse and indigenous technological development?
What should be the actions, strategies and policies which will be implemented in the future to secure a compet.i.tive advantage in the world market.
Which are the technologies that would come into the future in a big way by 2010,2015,2020 and 2025 respectively?
Which are the technologies by 2000, 2005,2010 and 2015 respectively?
The cross linkages and input flow between various panels and task forces were maintained through chairpersons coordination and the staff. At the subsequent TIFAC council meetings, several task forces and panels presented their rd findings from the reports. During the 23 TIFAC council meeting held on 18 April 1996 in New Delhi, it was decided to widely disseminate the reports with the help of industry, industrya.s.sociations, government departments, agencies, organizations and other interested groups in these areas so as to formulate some action for realizing this technology vision for India.
The perspective and scenario reports of the panels, Delhi responses and Nominal Group Technique (NGT) rankings formed the basis on which the vision and action reports were finalized, and suggestions were also formulated for policy guidelines, strategies and action plans for the government, industry, R&D inst.i.tutes and academic inst.i.tutions to realize the vision for India up to 2020.
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Each vision report contains valuable information on the current status, forecasts, and a.s.sessment of a sector. One can see through these reports various outcomes and suggestions for action ranging from simple modification of policies and/or administrative measures to the introduction of relatively simple technology practices on the one hand, as well as those involving mastery of new and emerging complex technologies on the other. One would find all these options being interconnected. It is very difficult to choose one or the other alone as sufficient for India. It is essential to orchestrate all of them in a systematic way and also with a reasonable timesynchronism. These collectively form the Technology Vision for India up to 2020. India Today of 31 July 1996 carried and exclusive preview under the heading "50 Technologies That Will change Our Lives" by Raj Chengappa.
The mammoth exercise has resulted in twentyfive doc.u.ments. H.D. Deve Gowda, then the Prime Minister, releasing the Technology Vision 2020 reports on 2 August 1996 in New Delhi, said: I am happy to learn that the reports present not only a Vision in 2020 but also spell out the intermediary steps required to be taken by government, inst.i.tutes, industry and others. The coming years require greater emphasis and investment, particularly by industry and business houses, for creating indigenous technological strengths. While it is not necessary that we develop everything within the country, we should remember that the compet.i.tive world respects technological strengths. I have confidence that our managers, experts and work force can meet any challengeeven the complex technological and organizational tasksif we make dedicated and sustained efforts. I would suggest that we all commit ourselves to taking the necessary followup steps. This will be our tribute to those who have worked hard for several months to prepare these reports. The reports should be widely disseminated and become a source of inspiration to our younger generation.
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The minister of state for science and technology, Prof Y.K.
Alga said India is one of the very few countries which has produced such reports. This in itself ill.u.s.trates the trend as technological strength built up in our inst.i.tutions, industries and users.
Summing up, I said: I have presented the results in several forums to various Persons: young and old.
I find them uniformly enthused about the vision and they want to do something soon.
Therein lies our strength. We have not really tapped the Full potential of our multiinst.i.tutional networked strengths. I hope these doc.u.ments will provide such an opportunity. I firmly believe that ignited minds are the power resources. Can we trigger the young minds in national development?
Yes, we can.
A few chairpersons presented the key results. None of them had rehea.r.s.ed or exchanged notes before the function the smoothness of the presentation showed how well they had absorbed the findings.
Even though there are twentyfive doc.u.ments for seventeen area (seefig.3.2), there are tremendous linkages across all of them. For example, when the near doubling of cereals is envisaged for 2020, it implies the crucial importance of post harvesting processes, including storage, transportation, distribution and marketing. Similarly, if we are to become leaders in machine tool industries, the doc.u.ment calls for focusing our strength in software engineering Through the wealth of our software engineering, we should enter into Computer AidedDesign and ComputerAidedManufacturing (CADCAM), resulting in India a.s.suming leadership in the key areas of machine tools and similar industries with valueadded software. Our strengths in the conventional manufacturing of plants and machinery, the knowledge base in chemistry, the growth of computer simulation as well as rich biodiversity provide a new role for us in the modern clean chemicals
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