Question

Impact of science and technology on indian society

Answer 1

Introduction

As in the case of developed countries Science & Technology can play a major role in bringing about social and economic transformation in our country, especially in the rural areas. This paper examines some important aspects of Science and technology which will help in making rural India shine. Firstly, it conceptualizes rural development and tries to present a more concrete definition of rural development as “it is utilization, protection and enhancement of the natural, physical and human resources needed to make long-term improvements in rural living conditions.

Though the importance of science and technology for rural India was appreciated in the 1930s by Gandhi, giving rise to the work of the Centre for Science for Villages, advanced institutions of education, science and technology turned their attention to this area only about 40 years later in the 1970s. The most well known of these efforts was from the Indian Institute of Science with its programme for the application of science and technology to rural areas known by its acronym ASTRA. ASTRA was based on a model of science-technology interactions in a “dual society” like India with a small affluent elite amidst a large economically deprived majority living primarily in rural areas. The model showed that inter alia an extension centre and a mission-oriented programme would be required to develop technologies to address the normally ignored felt needs of the rural population. While many crucial features of this initial ASTRA model have been validated, it also had several shortcomings that are described. An attempt has been made in this paper to indicate some directions along which the model should be updated taking into account the emphasis today on sustainable development. Special attention has been devoted to the failure modes in the generation, commercialisation and dissemination of rural technologies. Finally, the barriers to the commercialisation and dissemination of rural technologies are discussed.