Journal of Scientific & Industrial Research Vol .58, Decemher 1 999, pp 954-976

Changing Trends in Parliamentary Deliberations on

Science and Technology Policy

Nirmal Haritash and S A Nabi National Institute of Science Technology and Development Studies,

Dr K S Krishnan Marg, New Delhi 1 1 0 0 1 2, India

Received: 06 April 1 999; accepted: 3 1 August 1 999

In this paper an attempt has been made to throw light on the governance of Parliament on the policy issues of science in the making of S&T policy of the country.This has been studied through an examination of the S&T related issues deliberated at various forums of the Parliament. An overall view of the nature and trend of S&T issues deliberated in the Parliament reveals that throughout the years, since independence, almost al l types of S&T related issues have been taken up for discussions at various forums of the Parliament. The issues have ranged right from the significance of the role of S&T in the fulfilment of various socio-economic objectives , resources for the development of S&T, priority areas for research , social environment for research in the research institutions, technology develop­ment capabil ities, strength of l inkages between the industry and the research institutions, technology development and its util ization, international co-operation in S&T, etc. However, i t has been observed that the proportion of discussions on various S&T policy-related issues deliberated over the period of time, since independence, have not remained static throughout, but has shown variations in the trend of S&T related issues discussed. Henceforth, in this paper, changing trends in the S&T related issues deliberated in the Parliament have been studied by considering: (i) The course which the developments in S&T have adopted, since independence, ( i i ) The political structure and the party in power having its specific ideology for the development of science along with the commitment of the political leadership to the role of science in the fulfilment of socio-economic objectives of the nation.The study, in turn, has suggested for various reforms in the Parliamentary i nstitutions: (i) For the more effective participation of Memhers of Parliament in the Parliamentary deliberations on S&T related issues, and ( i i) I n influencing S&T policy decisions of the government in the larger interests.

1 Introduction The worldwide knowledge expansion, rapid ad­

vances in information technology, a g lobalizing economy, rising standards of education, the change from industry-based to service based employment, and some of the other fundamental structural shifts confronting society have led people expressing their concern about the ability of the governments in meet­ing their expectations. The broad question raised in the present times is whether confl icting and complex demands on government are becoming more com­plex, more frequent and more urgent. Perhaps it is more important to ask whether the rate of change in society is changing the very nature of government and the role of elected representatives. The basic ob­jective of the joint UNESCO and Inter - Parl iamen­tary Conference on Science, Culture and Communi­cation, held in Paris from 3 to 6 June 1 996 was to enable participants to identify the major world chal-

lenges arising due to the increased developments in science and technology (S&T), '

Also the Members of Parliament i n Parl iamentary democracies are more frequently being challenged as to their personal performance, or to that of their party or of their government. The questions confront­ing Members of Parliament include: (i) Are they, as elected Members, both individually and collectively becoming more able or less able to identify and sat­isfy public expectations? (i i) Are their ski l ls and at­ti tudes and the resources avai lable to them are keep­ing up with the growing and changing community demands? (i i i) Are the processes and structures of government becoming outmoded? and (iv) Or can they adopt quickly enough to meet current expecta­tions and sti l l sustain democracy?2

Political scientists and scholars are spending much of their time and energies on such questions. Advo-

HARITASH & NABI : S & T POLICY 955

cates of the Nt�w Public Management reforms to go v­c rnanc\' sugg�:�·,t that performance measu rc s \\' i l l h e l p

i mpro e hoth the efficiency uf ! ! lC governmcnt a l l d the ab i l i t y of the legislature t o scru t i n ize t h e publ ic

pol icies. The n e w accountabi l i ty tools at the c1 i sp('Isal

of Ieg i s l a lor.;; i n c l u de : Pe rfor m anc c i nd ica turs ,

Bench mark i ng, Service standards, C i t i ze n ch:lrlerS,

Business plans, Better aud i t and Evaluatio i l . Lindquist

d iscusses that th is propo.<;al wi l l not, of course. re­

move the tenslOns and contrad ictions that w i l l a l ways animate accou ntabi l i ty scrut in izing networks. i Hovv­ever, Paul Thomas poi nts out t hat bet te r i n format ion systems wou ld help to better educ ate leg i s l ators, c i t i ­zens, interest groups, journal i sts, and academics about the organi sations and programmcs they are go i ng to

srut inize.4 Various studies empirical and academic , examin­

ing the role of Parli ament in the affairs of science exhibit that Parli ament in Ind ia and in other Par l ia­mentary de mocracies exerc i se l it t le i n fl uence on major legislation and have no effective control over S&T pol icies of their respective coun tries. :;'x Studies conducted to exam ine the i nstitutional mechan isms and other faci l i ties made avai l able to the Members of Parl i ament for participation on the pol icy issues of science bri ngs out that Members l ack the authentic sources of i n formation on S&T and there i s lac k of fac i l i ties for analysing and i n terpretin g complex is­sues on S&T. Most Members complain that process of priori ty determi n ation begin s in the executive are­nas long before i t comes to the Parl iament? I l) A study

carried out in NISTADS to exami ne the factors af­fecting paiticipation of Members of Parl i ament i n S&T policy formu l ation revealed a general fee l i ng of disinterest among MPs i n the affairs of science. A majority of MPs perceived: ( i ) Lack of public pres­sure on S&T i ssues, ( i i ) Lack of adequate i mportance accorded to S &T i ssues by the pol i tical parties, ( i i i ) Inadequate opportuni ties and fac i l it ies a s t h e major constraints in rais ing S&T issues in Parliament and (iv) Lack of i nterest of MPs in S&T issues is also evident from the n ature of S&T issues discussed by them i n and outside the Parl i ament. In fact, science dominated i ssues are given l ow priority among the overall discussions held in the Parl iament. ! !

However, o f lalc, the �cholarsh ip i n the U S has strc� :-:ccl t lk: i ! J lpO! LiI1Ce , ,1' dc l ibc l at i c J lls i n Icgis la­! ; vc cic< ' ; �; iGn mak i l lg. After many year.·; uf scholarly neglect , (here i'i a res u rgent emph as i s on how d i scus­

s ion s of the rllc r ih or pub l i c polic ies affect leg i s la­t i vc heh:, ViOl l !'. I nc\..::cd , J oseph Bes�:ettc 1 994 offe red a fronta l chal le n ge to the predo m i n ant barga i n i n g

model of Con gress iona l decis i l)n - m :.lk i ng argu i ng that Congress is bette r described as a del iberat i ve in­

s t i tu t ion where legis l atures pursue some concept ion ofthc wmmon good. Del i berations also figu re prom i ­nen t ly i n contemporary normat ive cvaluation of the US leg is latures. Writers frequent ly stress that care ful del i beration is one of the key princ iples that ought to guide legislative dec ision - mak i ng. Whereas, leg is­l atures are j udged i n terms of the extent to which they promote del iberations , and finding that t hey fal l short, are often l i nked with proposals for reform. A wide variety of reform measures ostensibly aimed at pro­moti n g del iberations have been advanced ,among these measures are the number of committee assign­ments which set aside time for broad floor debate on major i ssues at the begin n i ng of each l egis lat ive ses­sion . ! 2 It is yet to be ascertained whether such schol­arly studies are avai l able for promoti ng more relevant S&T pol icy related del i berations in the Parl i ament.

2 Objectives

The present study attempts to exami n e the del i b­

erations at the Floor-of-the Indian Parl i ament to visll­al ize the role of these del i berations i n the pol icy is­sues of S&T.In this context the study focuses on the fol lowing aspects of the del i berations in both the HOllses (Lok sabha and Raj y a Sabha) of t he Parl i a­ment :

( i ) Nature o f S&T pol icy re l ated del i berat ions in the Parl i ament.

( i i ) S h i ft i n the n at ure and trend of S&T i ssues del i berated.

( i i i )Whether the dei i berations are true represen­tatives of people's problems i n vo l v i ng S&T rel ated issues.

( iv) Whether the issues del i berated in the Par­l i ament h ave i ts i m pact on the S &T pol icy of the Government.

956 J SCI IND RES VOL.58 DECEMBER 1 999

3 Methodology Taking questions and debates on S&T pol icy is­

sues as indicator of interest shown by the Members of Parliament in the development of S&T the ques­tions and i ssues on S&T related matters discussed at the Floor-of-the-House have been content analysed. The content categories of pol icy issues on S&T have been identified and used for analysis of questions and queries on S&T related matters de­l iberated in the Parl iament. The years covered in the study include, since 1 947 to the present times.

4 Pre-election Era In India, governmental concern about develop­

ment and promotion of science has been mainly a post - independence phenomenon. Before indepen­dence, India had only a skeleton organizational struc­ture of science. Soon after independence, the Indian National Congress Party that worked for the na­tional independence, adapted itself to face pol itical competitiveness and compulsions of the parl iamen­tary democracy. During that period, there were two possible alternatives for the development of S&T. The first alternative was presented by M K Gandh i . He emphasized the need for the development o f in­digenous resources and considered modern tech­nology as evil which would lead to monopoly in the hands of a few. Gandhian philosophy was based on the fact that a vil lage should be developed as a self­supporting unit of society. Gandhi imagined that for any country to remain independent, it must rely on its own resources and indigenous ski l ls . 1 3

The second alternative was due to lawahar Lal Nehru who favoured the development of modern S&T and regarded industrialization to be the qu ick­est path for achieving self-rel iance, keeping in view the scarcity of resources in the country. Ultimately, Nehru succeeded in implementing his ideas. He was the major force in setting up the political and social tone for the development of S&T in India. During the period 1 947-5 1 , there was no wel l-defined plan for the development of science. Only those prob­lems were taken up which needed immediate atten­tion. Eminent Indian scientists l ike Dr Homi Bhabha, Dr S S Bhatnagar and Dr M N Saha received encour-

agement and pol itical support from Nehru ; these scientists later on significantly contributed to the development of science. Dr Bhabha strongly ad­vocated the need for the development of atomic power as a major source of energy. Consequently, in 1 948, the Atomic Energy Commission was es­tabl ished, headed by Dr Bhabha. Dr Bhatnagar was made the head of the Counc i l of Scientific & In­dustrial Research . 1 4

5 Post-election Era

Congress Party Under the Leadership of lawahar

Lal Nehru( 1950- 1 964) Since the Congress had won first Lok Sabha elec­

tions with two-thirds majority, the ideologies of the Congress were dominated by Nehru , he being at the helm of affairs. During the first three Lok Sabha periods, commanding three-quarters majority, the Congress dominated the activities in the Parl iament. In such an environment, there was l i ttle incentive for the opposition MPs to influence government pol icies. For instance, prior to the Second General Election , the Praja Socialist Party (PSP) had in its program a wel l articulated alternative approach for choosing technological basis for India's socio-eco­nomic development. By the early sixties, the PSP discarded S&T from its political programmes as al­ternative science policy seemed to be i rrelevant in gaining more votes. I S

During the period between 1 952 and 1 965, sc i­ence was declared officially to be crucial to the Con­gress government's ' industrial isation program' . The government's commitment in this d irect ion was made expl icit in its Scientific Pol icy Resolution of March, 1 958 , which stressed the urgent need for the mobil ization of scientific and technical personnel to meet the requirements of the program. Being a leader of the ru l ing party, Mr. Nehru was himself interested in the development of science and had been considet'ably impressed by the Soviet Russian experiment, he laid emphasis on the planned uti l i ­zation of the scientific resources and discoveries for the rapid industrialization of the country. Thereby, the process of planning in India was initiated in 1 952

HARITASH & NAB! : S & T POLICY 957

under the directive of the Prime Minister Nehru. In the successive Five-Year plans, he gave due consid­eration to the development in the various fields of S&T. 16

A Ministry of Scientific Research and Cultural Affairs was established in 1 958 ; it lasted until 1 963 and became a focus in the Lok Sabha of discussion about the government's role in the development of science. During this period, Members of Parliament generally shared the enthusiasm of the government for the promotion of science and supported the pro­gram of expansion of governmental research es­tabl ishments. In 1 95 1 , the total central governmen­tal expenditure on scientific research was Rs 47 mil l ion; by 1 965-66 it had increased to Rs 79 1 mil­l ion, an i ncrease of nearly seventeen-times over a 1 5 y period. I?

In the 50s the Parliamentary deliberations on S&T related issues were broadly directed towards the development of S&T in the different socio-economic areas. More over i n the discussions Members were inquisitive to know about the way developments in S&T would meet the socio-economic needs of the people at large. MPs raised issues under different socio-economic areas viz. energy, health, natural resources, communication and defense. However, the Parliament was more concerned with issues l ike exploration, development, and util ization of natu­ral resources . R&D programmes pertaining to food, agriculture, health and nutrition featured promi­nently in the questions asked. Another major area covered was transfer of technology and this had di­rect correlation w ith the large-scale import of tech­nologies through various collaborative agreements and manpower train ing programmes for industrial development of the country during that period. IS

In the early 60s, the Floor deliberations on S&T related i ssues i nc l uded the i mplementat ion of programmes directed towards providing enlarged faci l it ies for train ing of personnel i n different branches of S&T through deputation of Indian scien­tists and engineers abroad, visits of foreign experts and science education programmes in the universi­t ies . The other issues of promi nence included: Strengthening research faci lities in existing institu-

tions and creating research institutions in the newly emerging areas of S&T. The issues were raised ba­sically to meet the objective of self-reliance in S&T. A few questions pertained to science i n rural areas in connection with the setting up and functioning of 'Vigyan Mandir's' . 1 9

During the first three Lok Sabha periods, the Members of Parl iament belonging to both the rul­ing party and the opposition parties were generally not critical about the developments in S&T. How­ever, they were more interested i n knowing about the policies and programmes of the government for the development of science and its appl ication. Most of the questions raised during the period were basi­cally to seek information from the government about the way science was being conducted in the coun­try. At times, MPs supported the development in the frontier areas of S&T. For instance, during the discussion on the demand for grants for the Depart­ment of Atomic Energy (DAE), one of the Con­gress party Member, opined that20 :

"The peaceful use of atomic energy has got a great future and the development of atomic energy would play a great role in fulfi lling the aims of Science Policy Resolution. Also, i t is of utmost i mportance to build up a scientific base by way of train­ing technical personnel in the field of atomic energy".

Whereas, Socialist party Members urged the government and the DAE to :

" Make the best possible efforts to find out ways and means of producing electricity and power with a view to relieve the coun­try of this famine of energy".

The Science Pol icy Resolution (SPR) put on the table of the Lok Sabha by Nehru was debated and was passed on 0 1 May, 1 958 with the consent and agreement of all the members of Lok Sabha. V P Nayar, Member of the United Front of Leftists, opened the debate on the SPR and observed : 2 1

"The Science Policy Resolution of the 04th March, is indeed, welcome, although, I consider that it is be­lated. In 1 948, when the Government of India came out with an Industrial Policy Resolution, it was the time that the Government of India would have come out with a poiicy like the one which they have now given to us.

After the 1 948 resolution on Industrial Policy, we have

958 J SCI IND RES VOL.58 DECEMBER 1 999

had two plans. They were drafted, discussed at length, debated and accepted as final . But we find that the plans

could not succeed to the extent desirable or to the extent

we expected, because government did not have a sci­ence policy on the basis of which they had to work out the plans".

The leader of Communist Party in the House, of­fered some what similar comments :

"I welcome this Science Policy Resolution even though I would have been happier if this kind of resolution had been formu­lated by government earlier. It is precisely worded, suggestive and important document, and we are happy that now there is a definite statement by government in regard to the harness­ing of science to the task of reconstruction of life and society

in this country."

Whereas, a socialist Member remarked:

"I welcome the SPR not only because it will make it possible for us to fulfill the plan but because it will bring about the change in the mentality of our people. I am very much dis­gusted when I find people still harboring some age-old faiths, age-old attitudes which are contrary to the demands of the day. Therefore, when we want that the SPR should be adopted in this House, it is not enough to adopt it here. But it must be presented to the people, the outlook that i t contains must be carried over to the people and a whole generation will have to be raised which believes in the tenets which are incorporated

in it."

The final words on the debate came from Nehru :

" I am glad that it interests the House and I earnestly hope that the government will be able to live up to this Resolution and

will have the support of the House."

However, during the period a few intel lectuals from the opposition benches watched the growth of science closely and questioned the way it grew. For instance, Saha, though a c lose associate of Nehru and also a Member of Congress during the indepen� dence movement, showed his strong disappointment with the way the S&T was being developed in India after independence.He showed his strong disappoint­ment with the way various pol icies of government in the areas of education, industrialisation, health, etc . , had developed in the pre-election era. This led him to leave the Congress. As an independent Mem­ber, in the Parliament ( 1 952-57), he always stressed

for the auton omous c h arac ter of s c i e n t i fi c organisations and for giving freedom to scientists in undertaking the research work .Moreover, he was of the view that before building-up of infrastructure for the development of an area viz. atomic energy, relevant and appropriate expertise be created.In this context,he bel ieved in strengthening of base of sci­entific research in universities .22

Another independent Member in the second Lok Sabha, Inder Malhotra, an agriculture scienti st, showed his deep concern for the conditions of the research workers in agriculture in the government laboratories. fie pointed out that the agricultural scientists were among the lowest paid scientists in the country. He was the prime mover of the 1 962 resolution on the working conditions of the govern­ment employed scientists. The resolution was put before the House because by the suicide of M N Joseph , a foreign trained agriculture scientist. The controversy generated by the suicide in the House and outside led to the modification of scheme of 'scientists pool ' for scientists returning from abroad. It was made independent directorate and was del­egated wider terms of references' in order to provide facil i ties to the foreign returned scientists. The main function of the 'pool ' is to provide temporary place­ment for scientists coming back to India after their training abroad ti l l they are able to find suitable employment for themselvesY

A few other influential Members of the Commu­nist Party strongly criticised the industrialization strategies of the government, specifically the indus­trial ization through foreign collaborations. During that period, issues regarding the progress made in the implementation of Science Policy Resolution of 1 95 8 were debated more frequently in both the House of the Parliament. For instance, a Congress party Member with the consent of about one-fifth Members of the House, moved the fol lowing Reso­lution in the Rajya Sahha in 1 964.24

"This House is of the opinion that government should ap­

point a committee consisting of Members of Parliament and experts to inquire into the report on the progress made in the implementation of the SPR of the Government of India of 1 958, with particular reference to scientific research undertaken in

HARITASH & NABI : S & T POLICY 959

the various national laboratories for development and for de­

fense purpose."

He assured that this Resolution was moved with the best of motives to help the government to find out the cause of non-implementation of the Resolu­tion.

A CPI Member, welcomed this resolution and said:

''The progress of the country, today, depends on the advance­ment S&T and no party of any political persuasion in the coun­try can aspire to take the country forward without paying the utmost attention to the problems of S&T. Therefore, this mat­ter should be discussed in an utterly non-partisan and con­structi ve manner."

Moreover, he suggested that the fol l ow i n g changes should b e incorporated in the S&T devel­opment programme of the country :

(a) Formulation of an overall plan for scientific research in various branches of S&T;

(b) Creation of a Science Pol icy Commission; (c) Creation of an All India Science Survey ; (d) Promotion of scientific education in schools ,

colleges and universities; (e) Promotion of scientific outlook among the

masses through mass media; (f) Setting up of five working groups of scien­

tists on: (i) Atomic Research; (ii) CSIR, (ii i) Defense Research, (iv) ICMR, (v) ICAR; and

(g) Allocation of funds for scientific research.

-.- Keeping in view the then existing problems, the Indian Parl iamentary and Scientific Committee made a special effort to encourage national political parties to include references to the importance of modern S&T in the achievement of India's national goals in their election manifestoes of 1 967 . Repro­duced below,e .g . , is an excerpt from the election manifesto of the Congress Party that envisaged that:

"A modern society can only be built on the foundations

of S&T. The men of S&T will be the kingpins in the economic and social transformation of India. The In­dian National Congress has confidence in the young sci­entists and technologists of India, who have shown that they are second to none in skill, competence, and dedi­cation. There is a great need for the administrators of the country to place complete trust in Indian engineer­ing, Indian skill , and Indian talents. The Indian National Congress hopes that technological self-reliance wil l be

the keynote of the coming years. The Congress also calls

on the government to so alter the conditions of work and

service as to attract best men from whichever part or the

world they may be working . In an age of S&T in which

we need the best skills and competence, no foreign aid can replace the loss of skills as a result of the drain of

some of our ablest students to other countries. The In­dian National Congress calls on the Government of In­

dia and the governments in the states and private indus­try to create conditions to arrest this."25

During the early years of independence under the Prime Ministership of Nehru up to three consecu­tive Lok Sabha periods when Science had yet to prove itself in the face of severe problems faced by the country. There was a healthy environment for science to grow and flourish, s ince the leader of Government and the Parliament, Nehru, himself was i mpressed by science and the Par l iament was equipped with committed national ists of freedom struggle movement viz: M N Saha, S S Kothari, Acharya Kriplan i, Smt Sucheta Kriplani , Dr C D Deshmukh, Lal Bhadur Shastri , Gulzari Lal Nanda, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, Sardar Val labbhai Patel , and many others. Henceforth, tremendous re­sources were devoted in expectation of solution to most of the problem faced by the country. In such an environment, the Parliamentary concern for sci­ence in the floor del iberations was l imited to mak­ing i nquiries about the expected role of science in the fulfi l lment of various goals of the society.

Congress Party Under the Leadership of Indira Gandhi (1964-1977)

During the elections for the Fourth Lok Sabha, The Congress(R) led by Indira Gandhi returned to the House securing 55 .4 per cent of the total seats. Thus the Fourth Five-Year Plan was prepared under the direction of Mrs Indira Gandhi . The main ob­jectives of the plan were to: (i) Integrate industrial research with program of industrial development, ( i i ) Achieve greater coordination at the inter-labo­ratory level, and (i i i) Evaluate research programmes at different levels .26

When Mrs Indira Gandhi took charge of the of­fice of Prime Minister, the building up of the scien­tific and technological structure had reached a stage

960 J SCI IND RES VOL.58 DECEMBER 1 999

where it could have led to achieve the goals of the nation. However, a feel ing that the indigenous R&D system did not have much impact on the society, gave rise to a publ ic debate on the performance of Indian science. Consequently, a shift in the percep­tion of MPs about the role of scientific research and technological developments was noticeable. As, there were more debates, discussions and questions relating to the socio-economic gains from the in­digenous R&D efforts and through the technologies being imported from abroad. There were several queries about the progress made in the implementa­tion of SPR. Members also inquired about the steps taken by the Government in streamlining the role of science in achieving socio-economic goals of the society. To quote such an instance, a few Members belonging to the Communist party raised a joint question addressed to the Minister of Education and Youth Services, inquiringY

(a) Whether government are thinking of sending scientists from national laboratories to ' l ive with' industry in order to know the problems of industry ?,

(b) Whether there is any proposal that the study of production based science should be pur­sued instead of curiosity based science? and,

(c ) If so, what steps government intends to take in this direction?

The reply of the concerned Minister Dr V K R V Rao was encouraging as he informed the Members that in order to bring the national laboratorieslinsti­tutes and industries c loser steps were being taken to identify 50 or 60 important industries and to associ­ate each one of the national laboratorylinstitute with one or more of these industries. In this context,a Committee had been constituted under the Chair­manship of Member (industry) of the Planning Com­mission and representatives of chemical industry, engineering, industry ,planning Commission and the chairman of FlCCI and industry.The terms of refer­ence of the Committee included : ( i) Providing guidel ines to the national laboratorieslinstitutes in planning programmes, Oi) To identify major areas

of importance, and (i i i ) To co-ordinate the research activity of national l aboratorieslinstitutes with the public and private sector industries .

Another Congress Member raised a query ad­dressed to the Minister of Science, asking: 28

(a) Whether science popularization is the fundamental factor influencing the pace of economic development.

(b) If so, what steps have been taken to achieve that?

The reply of the Minister confirmed the views of the Members as he envisaged that scientific attitude is among the factors that accelerate the pace of eco­nomic development of a country. Whereas the steps taken to popularise science included financial as­sistance to individuals and societies for publishing popular science writings, popular fi lm shows, and exhibitions and improving S&T at school stage.

In the area of agriculture development, Members while showing their satisfaction at the significant increase in the food grain production (Green Revo­lution period) through improved agriculture imple­ments, ferti lizers, high yielding varieties of seeds, etc . the Members stressed that to keep up with the h igher rate of growth of the agriculture produce there is a dire need for a good agarian structure, irrigation and a scientific management of water and soi l which are wanting in the country. The dry land farming techniques should be extended to al l the rain-fed areas and this should not be kept restricted to a few pockets. As regards cropping pattern the Members expected that such crops should be grown which suit the nature of the soi l as also the environment of the area.29

Indira Gandhi period was also marked by the change in the pol itical environment at different lev­els viz. (i) Rapid erosion of one party dominance, (ii) The emergence of strong regional parties, ( i i i ) Spread of culture of mass politics in the affairs of science coming out of closed politics, and (iv) Re­structuring of the very structure of science. More­over, under the conditions of landsl ide victory of the rul ing party the MPs in the opposition groups

HARITASH & NABI : S & T POLICY 96 1

found more response to their inquiries and critical comments. Thus, under the new pol itical conditions, many Parl iament review Committees were ap­pointed to scrutinize the working of various science departments. For instance, in 1 968, the Sarkar Com­mittee, an all party ad-hoc Parliamentary Commit­tee was appointed by the government to look into the overall working of CSIR, and, in particular, to make an assessment of the uti l isation of the grants to it by the government. The Sarkar Committee, unl ike other Committees of the Parl iament, had the l iberty to l isten to the individual scientist's griev­ances about the CSIR management without any in­tervention of senior official of CSIR. The impact of the recommendations of the Sarkar Committee is reflected within the working of CSIR during 1 972-74. some of the changes which had taken place are l isted below:3o

(i) A compact Governing Body of CSIR was consti tuted which as been meeting fre­quently.

( i i ) A decentral ized internalized management was introduced at the level of both the Gov­erning Body of CSIR and the Executive Committees of its laboratories.

( i i i ) The CSIR Headquarters was restructured laying greater emphasis on its technical com­ponent, namely; science planning , technol­ogy util isation, technical manpower, extra­mural research and international collabora­tion in S&T.

A few active Members of the ruling party, ex­pressed their views about the developmental strate­gies by participating in the del iberations inside and outside the Parl iament. For i nstance, a pressure group formed in the party by Krishan Kant, a mem­ber of the Indian Scientific and Parliamentary Com­mittee and the editor of its journal, 'Science in Par­liament' , provided a common forum for the parlia­mentarians and scientists to exchange views on the developments in S&T. A group of science interested Members of the rul ing party actively participated in the discussions on various issues of S&T. They

were consistent supporters of i ncreased financial outlay for the scientific institutions. An influential Congress party Member H C Mathur, was appointed as one of the five members of the Administrative Reforms Commission, which went into the work­ing of various scientific departments . 3 !

Such discussions reveal that almost al l the pol iti­cal parties were aware of the lacunae in the imple­mentation of pol icies for S&T. In view of that, al l pol itical parties provided various alternative strate­gies for the development of science in their election manifestoes ( 1 97 1 )32. While at one end of the po­l i tical parties spectrum the Swatantra party wanted import of foreign technology as a basic element of development, at the other end the communist party of lndia gave priority to economic independence and democratization of science. The Congress talked of preparing a S&T plan to concentrate resources in priority areas, and involving scientists in the deci­sion-making machinery.

In the same year, Congress red by Indira Gandhi won the elections securing absolute majority. Thus the ideologies of the Congress for the development of S &T prevai led. The Prime M i n i ster, Indira Gandhi, was also conscious of the then existing prob­lems of science policy which she expressed in her address to the Committee on S&T. She pointed out that there was need for a fundamental change in the existing approaches to the management of scien­tific and technological institutions . 33

In the Fifth Five-Year Plan, for the first time, a comprehensive S&T plan was incorporated as an integral part of the socio-economic plan of the na­tion . This was in the form of a paper ' An Approach to S&T Plan ' brought out in 1 973 . The paper dealt with various national problems which included:34

( i) How to use S&T for national development? ( i i) How to develop national S&T capabi l ities? (iii) How to take benefits of S&T to rural

people? (iv) How S&T is essential for the building up of

scientific temper and removing superstition. An examination of the Parliamentary del ibera­

tions i n the early 70s reveals that there was unanim­i ty among Members belonging to different pol i tical

962 J SCI IND RES VOL.58 DECEMBER 1 999

ideological groups raised issues relating to enhanc­ing indigenous S&T development capabi l ities in making the country self-rel iant. In th is context, a group of Members, al l belonging to the Commu­nist Party, pointed out various problems relating to scientific and technological development of the country. They were critical of the industrialization through foreign coll aboration. Taking part in the discussions on the demands for grants for S&T in Apri I, 1 972, they argued that industry was largely foreign oriented and that for achieving sel f-rel iance the fol lowing recommendations of the Sarkar Com­mittee should be implemented : 35

(a) The l icensing machinery of the government should be used as an effective instrument for promotion and uti l ization of indigenous research .

(b) Foreign col laboration should, as far as possible, be restricted to outright purchase of know-how with­out any obl igation to purchase the related design, engineering or the entire plant from abroad if it is avai lable in India.

(c) Industry should be permitted to import know-how only if it agrees to invest sufficient funds either in its own R&D units or in research laboratories in the country.

Members also pointed out that the uti l ization of processes developed in the CSIR laboratories was far from sati sfactory. Thus, efforts should be made by the government to narrow the gap between the research in l aboratories and the requirements of ac­tual production units in the industry.

At times, Members cutting through party l ine raised queries such as : 36

(i) Whether the appeal made by the government to Indian scientists abroad to bring them back has fai led?

(ii) Whether the reasons for the poor response from these scientists have been analyzed?

(iii) If so, what are the reasons?"

Some of the Socialist Party and Swatantra Party Members also raised questions on various i ssues of science pol icy. A Socialist MP, Samar Guha, with a background in nuclear physics, was particularly in-

terested in the affairs of the Department of Atomic Energy. In his speech on the subject, he brought to the attention of the government the urgent need for thorough parl iamentary scrutiny and debate on R&D taking place in the area of atomic energy. He felt that it was necessary to apply the normal test of cost­effectiveness to evaluate the benefits of investing so heavily in this area of research. :17 Though the op­position Members at times raised various critical issues and stressed for al terat ions in the pol ic ies for the development of S&T, however, it had no s ig­nificant effect on the major pol icies of the govern­ment.

During the period the development of new areas of scientific research and development had its im­pact on the nature of discussions in the Parl iament. As comparatively more questions were raised on issues l ike the socio-economic relevance of R&D in the emerging areas of development viz.9 the space research, telecommunication , and electronics. Tn the area of space research the init ial queries re lated to introduction of courses in space engi neering and rocketry in the universities .3M There were several questions relating to the role of Satel l i te Communi­cation System in the solution of various socio-eco­nomic problems including i l l iteracy.3? The l aunch­ing of the first Indian Sate l l i te was unanimously appreciated by the Members of Pari iamen t . In a state­ment made by the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on the occasion, she expressed:40

'This outstanding achievement the first by a developing coun­try, marks yct another milestone in our efforts to harness the benelits of modern S&T for national development. Apart from their purely scientific objecti ves, research and technology in­volving the peaceful uses of outer space, can contribute sig-

nificantly to the solution of economic and social problems."

The other i ssues which attracted the attention of the Members of Parl iament ti l l mid 70s included: causes and consequences of environmental pol lu­tion , exploitation of natural resources, etc . Ques­tions pertain ing to government pol icy regarding bringing Indian scientists back from abroad came up repeatedly for discussions. The Members criti­cized the industrialisation through foreign collabo­rations several times. MPs stressed for thorough par-

--

HARITASH & NAB! : S & T POLICY 963

l iamentary scrutiny to find out what benefits have been obtai�ed by investing so heavily in the ad­vanced area�f R&D.41 Janta Party Under the Leadership of Morarji Desai (1977-79)

In 1977, J anta Party won Lok Sabha elections with 297 seats out of a total of 542 seats. The Janata Government was coalition of Socialist Party, Jana Sangh and a group offormer Congress MPs. Its elec­tion manifesto, therefore, reflected mix of ideolo­gies grouped together at one place. The election manifesto of the party envisaged that:42

(i) The Gandhian values of "antyodya' and aus­terity must be accepted and implemented if the vicious circle of the poor becoming poorer and the rich, richer is to be broken.

(ii) The benefits of S&T should reach all our people. It is not opposed to advanced technology but it firmly believes that this can be harnessed to our needs only if we employ appropriate technol­ogy, simple or sophisticated, that is compatible with the environment and, while maximizing em­ployment, will yield optimum socio-economic benefits in the circumstances that prevail in the country.

(iii) There must be shift from capital intensive to employment orientated technologies, which are conducive to decentralized operations in the field of credit and marketing. Appropriate measures will have to be taken to demarcate areas of dif­ferential technology and to provide for statutory reservations of spheres of production for small scale and cottage industries.

Morarj i Desai took charge of the Office of the Prime Minister when the Fifth Plan was i n opera­tion. He introduced the concept of roll ing plan i n the system o f planning. I n the s ixth plan that i s an­nual plan 1 978-83 as marked by the Janta Govern­ment, i ntegrated ruler development programmes were given high priority. While replying to a ques­tion raised in Rajya Sabha regarding steps taken by the government for promoting research i n appropri­ate technology for rural areas, Morarj i replied that:43

Since Janta was conglomeration of different ideo­logical groups, there was no unified wi l l and coher-

ence in the thinking and outlook of the rul ing party and government. Even though the leaders of vari­ous groups constituting the rul ing party conducted several meetings devoted to the task of unifying the party on various issues, these efforts turned out to be sterile exercises. The result was that the Indian science received a temporary setback. For i nstance, the decision to re-organize CSIR was taken by the leader of the party, Moraj i Desai , in a meeting of the secretaries, to which the DGSIR, who also held the rank of a secretary to the government, was not invited. The Decision to re-organise CSIR was based on the recommendations of the Administrative Re­forms Commission (ARC) report on scientific departments. Desai had been personally responsible for the organisation of the ARC and setting up of a study team on scientific departments. The report of ARC emphasized that the autonomous research organi sations be made more accountable to the re­spective administrat ive Ministries . He implemented the recommendations of ARC once he got the chance to do SO.44

The coming up of the Janta Party in the late 70s thus gave a different direction to the development process being fol lowed by the earlier governments. Gandhian phi losophy after 40s for the first t ime found i ts expression i n the pol i tical ideology of the Janata party. The translation of their i deologies into operational pol icies had i ts impact on the nature of deliberat ions on S&T issues in the Parliament.

Members of the opposition, more specifical ly the Members of the Congress Socialist Forum, raised objections to the dismantling of CSIR and the di­version of almost all the scientific research towards developing technologies for the rural areas and ne­glecting developments in sophisticated areas of re­search. The Members of the Congress (I) were also concerned about the frustration developed in the scientific community because of certain alterations in the pol icies of the government.

An analysis of S&T i ssues del iberated in the Par­l i ament i n the late 70s exhibit that in , areas l ike ex­ploration, development and utilization of energy and natural resources dominated the scene. The obvi-

1b4 J SCI IND RES VOL.58 DECEMBER 1 999

ous driving force was the chal lenge posed by the energy cris is . There was noticeable increase in the number of queries regarding the programmes of in­troducing S&T in the rural areas. The proportion of queries i nto the space research, nuclear energy programmes and issues relating to communication technologies raised in the late 70s were higher com­pared to that in the early 70s. This is obviously due to the advances made in these areas during the pe­riod at international level and the intention of the government to develop national capabi lities in these areas .45

Apart from raising questions on the existing na­tional problems l ike brain drain, technology trans­fer, manpower uti l isation, functioning of research institutes and environmental pollution, Members raised specific i ssues. For i nstance, Samar Guha stressed upon the Atomic Energy Commi ss ion (AEC) to prepare l iterature describing protective measures against neutron bomb. While CPI Mem­bers i nquired about the status regarding the explo­ration of oil and gases in the country.46

During this period, there had been i ncreas ing number of questions and discussions on the opera­tions of Multi-National Corporations (MNC) i n the Parliament. During the Budget Session of Parl ia­ment, in the year 1 978, Members raised questions regarding MNCs profit making activities through unauthorized excess production . In thi s context, the i ssue of expansion of foreign drug companies was raised and discussed during the half- an- hour dis­cussion in the Lok Sabha in March 1 978. The is­sues del iberated i nc1uded:47

( i) Increase in capacities beyond the licensed l imit . ( i i) Production of unlicensed items.

( i i i ) Violation of export-import regulation act. ( iv) Violation of FERA rules.

A Marx i st Member of the Parl i ament , M Ramamurthy, raised strong objection to the decision of the government for importing technology through a multinational corporation for the manufacture of thermal turbines through BHEL-Siemens agreement.

In his speech in Rajya Sabha, he stated that such an agreement is a great threat to the independent de­velopment of scientific and technological capabil i­ties in the country. He impressed upon the Parl ia­ment and the government to stop the agreement with S iemens. Following thi s debate, the i ssue was dis­cussed several times in the Parliament and was also highl ighted in various public forums. Because of the strong opposition , the final decision of the govern­ment was kept in abeyance.48

Congress Party Under the Leadership of Indira Gandhi (1980-1984)

The experience of using S&T for rural develop­ment and for the uplift of the down-trodden brought to surface the fact that problems of the rural areas cannot be solved through the use of outdated S&T. Furtber, i n addi tion to finding technical solutions, the latter require to be integrated with social condi ­tions and economic constraints , besides requiring a proper delivery system. Consequently, the need for long-term and basic research interposing natural and social sciences was felt .

As a result, S&T component of the S ixth Five­Year Plan, laid a greater emphasis on fundamental and basic research, in addition to giving attention to i mmediate problems and finding their solutions with avai lable knowledge. Considerable effort was pro­posed to be directed to long-term problems and their solutions, by generating necessary knowledge and technological capabil i ties .49

Further, three new dimensions were also incor­porated in science pol icy as a result of past experi ­ence, and emerging needs. These were connected with the problem of safeguarding environment, fac­tors, arising out of i nteraction of S&T with society and the development of an i nformation system and i ts use in decision making. As a result of these per­ceptions, policies were evolved taking these into consideration and major changes were effected i n the infrastructure of S&T. New agencies and depart­ments were created to undertake responsibil ity and promote research i n newer areas of Science and Technology greater resources to back research with time-targeted objectives were provided.

HARITASH & NABI : S & T POLICY 965

In order to give clear guideli nes for technology developments, especially for the growth of indig­enous technology and for the acquisition of tech­nology from outside the government issued a Tech­nology Pol icy Statement (TPS) in 1 983 . The TPS provided a framework for achieving technological self-reliance. The Prime Minister reiterated in the Lok Sabha that the Governments Policy aimed at achieving self-reliance and development of i ndig­enous technology. She, however, clarified that there were certain areas where the country might have to resort to import of technology in order to keep pace with advances in other countries.50

During the period, even though, there was rever­sion of the policies adopted by the lanta govern­ment and there were attempts to bring S&T in l ine with socio-economic planning. The people science movement which was initiated in the 60s and gained momentum in 70s got further strengthened in the 80s. These science movements i nfluenced by diverse polit ical ideological groups demonstrated the im­pact of mass pol itics in science. In this atmosphere, there was pressure on the different political ideolo­gies represented in the Parl iament to raise issues such as the role of modern science in the development process, neglect of cottage and small scale artisan based industries by the formal science institutions, role of science in the areas of education, health, housing, sanitation, etc.

During the period the MPs expressed their keen interest in the i ssues concerning development , up­gradation and management of technologies in vari­ous sectors of economy viz. energy,industry and agriculture, etc.5 1 A sector-wise categorization of these questions reveal that maximum questions were raised for the development of technologies of the energy sector followed by questions on technolo­gies of i ndustrial sector, agriculture, space and tele­communications, and defense. Development and up­gradation of technologies in the energy sector have received the maximum attention of the Members. This is probably due to the escalating cost of im­porting crude oi l and petroleum products and also due to the depletion of indigenous natural resources of energy.

Government policy of import of technology and its implementation had been criticized by the MPs. They expressed concern at the government's pol icy of allowing l iberal import of commodities l ike soda ash, cocoa, etc . , which is adversely affecting the in­digenous i ndustry as i t is unable to compete with cheaper imported materials. In some of the ques­tions MPs asked as to why the government had gone for foreign collaborations when similar technologies were available indigenously. They also made inquir­ies as to how far the imported technologies in dif­ferent sector would utilize the already available tech­nological capabi l i ties in infrastructure building, i n generating potential for foreign exchange earning. MPs asked about the relevant pol icy instruments and the mechanisms of i ndigeni s i n g imported technology. They also inquired as to how far the imported technologies were being assimilated and diffused in the prospective sector as a complemen­tary to achieve technological self-reliance. Occasion­ally, stress was laid on appropriate technology choice which could generate maximum employment and gets transmitted and diffused i n short duration over a large number of people.

In agriculture sector, animal husbandry, health and nutrition, Members were keen to know about the progress made by various government research in­stitutions in developing newer technologies and the commercial application of such research results. In the sector of space and telecommunication, MPs expressed their concern at the unsatisfactory growth of telephone Itelecommunication faci lities prevail ­ing in the country. MPs also inquired about the in­digenous capabi l ity of producing electronic tele­phone exchanges. MPs were keen to know the health policy of the country. They inquired from the gov­ernment regarding the setting up of mobile health centers and other primary health centers in back­ward districts.

Members were keen to know about the R&D programmes of various core sector industries with particular reference to steel, cement, textile, paper, coir, etc . , for attaining import substitution and for making the plants commercially viable. Questions were also raised proposing selective import of tech-

966 J SCI IND RES VOL.58 DECEMBER 1 999

nologies and equipments for modernization of the outdated textile mil ls, steel plants, etc. MPs were also concerned about the need for developing smal l ­scale sector with particular reference to Khadi and vil lage industry, for providing employment to the rural poor. They also inquired from the Minister concerned about the steps taken by the Government to protect the smal l scale sector so that it does not suffer from the competition of more sophisticated imported technologies. Also, the problems of up­grading the traditional technologies and the adapt­ing of modern technologies in a manner that they are consistent with the development objectives were discussed.

Apart from Question- Hour, MPs used other Par­l iamentary privileges l ike half-an-hour time, special debates, Budget Session, etc . , for pointing out vari­ous lacunae in the policies of the government. In such forums they have made assessment of impOlted technologies for making better choices. Also, MPs have suggested for programming and budgeting of research themes for mobil ization of national re­sources in the priority areas of scientific and tech­nological development. They critically commented on the government pol icy of liberal imports with its possible consequences. For instance, Parl iament took up 'half-an-hour' discussion in Apri l 1 98 1 , on the topic of selective import of technologies in the health sector. 52

Parliament had another half-an-hour discussion in March 1 982 with the objective of development of technology for increased capacity uti l isation .53 In the general Budget Discussion for the year 1 982-83, MPs were generally critical about the budget outlay. Members were of the opinion that the "bud­get reflected a greater tilt towards the monopol ists, the capital ists, the business tycoons" . They stressed upon the government that for the developmental pro­grammes the country should not rely more and more on commercial borrowings of private capital from the US and from various US dominated international funding agencies. Indrajit Gupta (MP) emphasized that simple increase in the quantum outlay is not necessari ly going to help the common man . He pointed out that the budget is not operating out of

altru istic motives . It reflected the interests of large industrial houses. Also there was a pressure of the growing foreign collaborations. These things added up together with the pol icies of l iberal imports are bound to adversely affect the interests of common man.54

There was an important discussion in the Parl ia­ment on "The Need to Develop the Indian Ocean in Different Aspects". Inderj i t Gupta suggested the government must lay down its national marine policy. The main thrust of such a policy has to be in the field of fishing operations. The country should also design a policy on shipping which could chalk out program for tapping natural resources from the sea viz., oil and natural gas, as there is neither real policy nor any legislation on exploitation of off-shore oil and natural gas.55

Congress Party Under the Leadership of Rajiv Gandhi (1984-89)

After assassination of Indira Gandhi , country went for Eighth General Election ofLok Sabha. Congress party won the elections with absolute majority. Thus the plan and programmes of development adopted during the period 56 were in l ine with the ideologies of the Congress party. The objectives of the Sev­enth Five-Year plan continued to be growth, equi ty and social justice, self-rel iance, improved efficiency, and productiv i ty. In addit ion, emphasis was on growth in food production and increased employ­ment opportunities. A mission-oriented approach was adopted to technological development, with a view to fostering S&T efforts in selected sectors through organised l inks between various implemen­tation sectors and by introducing a sense of urgency to complete the task in a time targeted manner. The process of l iberal ization of the economy, i niti ated in 1 980, accelerated during this period. The import of technology was allowed on a selective basis for upgrading and modernization the existing technol­ogy as well as making indigenous R&D interna­tional ly competent.57

During the Prime M i n istersh ip of Mr Raj i v Gandhi the process of l iberalization of import of technology in itiated in early 80s was further accel-

HARITASH & NABI : S & T POLICY 967

erated. During the period the public interest in the affairs of science got further impetus by the joining of special ists, intellectuals, social and pol itical agen­cies and groups through popularization of science and through evolving alternative development mod­els which resisted the hegemonic action i n the in­terest of society. The proportion of such issues rep­resenting the wil l of the people on the affairs of sci­ence in the Parliament correspondingly increased during the period. Conseq\lently, there had also been perceptible change in the orientation of the S&T is­sues discussed. Proportional i ncrease has been ob­served in the issues pertaining to utilisation, dissemi­nation, and impact of developments in S&T com­pared to the issues relating to developments in S&T. To such questions the Members were critical about the way the developments in S&T are catering to the demands of certain section of society at the cost of masses. The primary concern of such issues was to direct developments in S&T to serve the masses. In these questions the Members were concerned about issues such as development of simple tech­-nologies for rural areas, development of modern information technology for rural people, up-grada­tion of rural telecommunication net work, and com­puterization of rural areas . Members also inquired about the action taken by the government on its pro­posed policy of prov iding power to the Gram Panchayats thereby involving viI lage people in the formulation and implementation of development programmes of the rural areas.

Various issues were raised where there was em­phasis on establ ishing l inkages between the tradi­tional knowledge system and modern S&T, wherein modern knowledge can provide means of reviving and upgrading the indigenous knowledge which has deep historical, cultural and social roots. The issues in the Parliament on these aspects included devel­opment and util isation of indigenous system of medi­cine, agriculture, and up-gradation of local skil ls . There was resistance by the Members of various political ideologies over the installation of big in­dustrial projects and dams thereby demanding tra­ditional and cultural community rights over land and allowing the local people to safeguard the natural

environment through their local world-view and tra­ditional knowledge systems.

Durin g the period under study, a s ignificant amount of environment related information trans­acted in both the Houses of the Parliament in re­sponse to the questions raised at different forums of the Pfrliament. In such issues the concern of the Members broadly ranged from : causes and conse­quences of eco-degradation, planning and assess­ment for environment protection, environment clear­ance of the industrial projects, enforcing laws to curb further deterioration of environment, pol icies and programmes for land management and water man­agement, mobil ization of resources for developing environment friendly technologies, environment conservation programmes through education and awareness .

Technology Mission issues were also given con­s iderable importance by the Members. There were questions on technology development issues belong­ing to different technology missions in different ar­eas of development. Proportionately Members were more concerned about accelerating self-rel iance in edible oils following l i teracy program. Technology mission i ssues concerning rural drinking water and dairy development and better communication issues also drew the attention of Members. MPs had also proposals for other areas, which according to them may also be given prior attention. Most questions on technology mission ' were raised by the rul ing party Members only few questions were raised by the Members belonging to different political par­ties. 58

National Front Party under the leadership of V P Singh (1989-90)

The National Front party won the Ninth Lok Sabha elections and formed the government under the leadership of V P S ingh. National Front was a coalition party which was formed by getting together of Members of various pol i tical parties, viz. Janta Party, Lok Dal and Samajwadi party in 1 989 (ref.59). Consequently, the approach to planning and priori­ties in S&T were re-oriented. The main thrust was laid on rural development and action plan was drawn

968 J SCI IND RES VOL.58 DECEMBER 1 999

by the Ministry of Science & Technology in l ine with the broad commitments made by the party i n its manifesto. I n this context, some of the major programmes launched related to land use, manage­ment of water resources, and poverty al leviation.

However the party could not sustain for long with V P Singh as leader of the government. The Na­tional Front was replaced by Janta Dal Party in No­vember 1 990 with Chander Shekher as Prime Min­ister t i l l the Tenth General Elections of Lok Sabha, in 1 99 1 . During this short duration the party could not make much impact on the S&T pol icies. How­ever, during the period the term of science council to the Prime Minister which completed its term in February 1 990 was not renewed.

Congress Party Under the Leadership of Narisimha Rao (1991-1996)

The Congress party won the Tenth Lok Sabha elections by getting about 4 1 per cent votes and formed the government u nder the Prime-Ministership of Narisimha Rao in June 1 99 1 . Congress party after taking charge of the govern­ment embarked upon a mass ive program of global is ing country 's economy leading to structural and functional reforms in the industrial policy and consequently in the technology policy of the coun­try. Whi le announcing the global isation programmes the party leadership stated that the government have initiated for reaching fiscal and financial reforms in view of the gravest cri s i s faced by the Indian economy and also assured that these reforms were in conformity with the promises made in their elec­tion manifesto. It was also assured that the govern­ment was determined to fol low the Nehruvian l ines without any deviation and continue the war on pov­erty.60

In the 90s under the Prime Ministership of Mr P V Narasimha Rao, there had been a drastic shift in the economic policy and thereby in the technology pol icy of the country.A radical shift in the strategy of the government for pushing the country into the international stream of highly competitive environ­ment came under scathing review by the intel l igen­tsia and the different ideological groups in and out-

side the Pariiament.The pressures enforced by the developed countries to persuade the developing countries ( including India) to open thei r markets for trade and services to perpetuate dominance on the developing countries through agreements, dec lara­tions, and negotiations had/have its repercussions on the parl iamentary deliberations.

A review of the Parliamentary del iberations in the early 90s exhibit that there have also been propor­tional increase in the global issues on S&T di scussed in the parl iament. These issues are mostly concerned about the governments pol icy of free flow of capi­tal intensive foreign technologies, de-regulations, privatization , and exit pol icy in the publ ic sector. In such i ssues, Members belonging to various op­position parties reacted to the unrestricted freedom of multinational companies which are bound to af­fect Indian industries making them subservient to the imperial capital and the Indian people be sub­jected victims of neo-colonial exploitation. Whereas, other members demanded that agro-based and smal l scale Industries may be provided protection from multinational companies and other domestic pri vate companies.61

The New Industrial Policy statement read out by the Finance Minister on 24th July 1 99 1 generated heated debate in the Parl i ament. There had been lengthy discussions during the General Discussions on Budget ( 1 99 1 -92) and Discussions on the demand for Grants of the Ministry of Industry ( 1 99 1 -92). These issues repeatedly came up for discussion at various other forums of the Parl iament. During the discussions, the Members of Parl iament were in­quisitive to know from the government the detai l s of the proposed changes in the Industrial Pol icy. Members of almost all parties raised various issues regarding different aspects of the pol icy ranging from global isation of R&D, foreign capital investments, de-regulations, role of NRIs, domestic private in­vestments, and exit pol icy in public sector. In al­most all the discussions on these issues the Mem­bers were keenly interested in knowing the exact detai ls of the proposed policy and the way it would be implemented.62

HARITASH & NABI : S & T POLICY 969

The rul ing Congress Party Members were the most vocal fol lowed by the opposition Members belonging to BJP. By-and-large the Congress Mem­bers welcomed the new policy options pertaining to globalisation of R&D and foreign capital invest­ments. However, a few Members expressed concern on the issue of exit pol icy for public sector units . The Members of BJP expressed their disapproval of the changes, particularly regarding opening doors to foreign investments and government proposal for closing down of public sector units. The Members strongly disapproved the proposal of the government regarding de-regulations in industry and increased equity participation of foreign capital . Almost all Members cutting across party l i ne strongly opposed closure of state owned publ ic sector units.63

The other issues of international relations in S&T included inquiry from the government about the con­sequences of signing GATT agreement, India's po­sition in the Rio declaration on the global environ­ment pact and other i ssue of bi lateral, and multi lat­eral foreign technological col laborations. India's signing of GATT agreement was a subject of exten­sive debate in the Parliament. Most Parliamentar­ians cutting across party l ine were critical of certain major changes affecting the country, more specifi­cally, on Intellectual Property Rights including prod­uct patents pertaining to pharmaceutical , agriculture, and chemical sector. The cancel lation of the agree­ment for Cryogenic Engine Technology by Russian Space agency under the US threat was a subject of concern for the Members of Parliament. Members were also concerned about the Rio De Janeiro dec­laration on global environment development strate­gies, and India's position on the subject.64

There had been a more pronounced shift in the perception of MPs about the role of S&T in the ful­fi l lment of various socio-economic goals of the so­ciety. There had been recommendations to involve voluntary organi sations for the advancement of people action and rural technology by different in­stitutions and societies for rural development. There had also been several issues of dissemination of sci­entific knowledge through creating Krishi Vigyan Kendras, setting up of district S&T centers in the

country for i mplementation of various action plans in the rural areas. Members had also stressed for creating infrastructure for i mparting scientific and technological education in local languages . In this context , propo s a l s were m ade to research organisations to bring out popular writings about their achievements in different local l anguages.)')

The i ssues of revival of traditional knowledge in its different aspects and its upgradation through modern scientific knowledge have shown subse­quent increase. There had been several questions where Members have proposed for the development of Ayurvedic system of medicine, scholarly studies in vedic education, mathematics, astronomy, and to explore and revive the wealth of indigenous knowl­edge. There had been inquires in the Parliament about the projects financed for computer based edu­cation and research work in Sanskrit l anguage and the infrastructure created for the same.65

United Front Party Under the Leadership of Deve Gowda and I K Gujral (1996-98)

The constitution of Eleventh Lok Sabha, in June 1 996,headed by a thirteen party coal ition, the United Front Party, established the fact that the agenda of once broad based national pol i tical parties have lost i ts credibil ity in view of the regional and state level claims through the emergence of various local po­l i tical parties at the national scene. However, the coal i tion Government headed by Deve Gowda, united to the manifesto of Common Minimum Pro­gram. The program though covered a wide range of i ssues; accorded high priority to rural development, drinking water, communication , primary health care, and housing.

In an environment where majoritarian govern­ments have given way to coalition governments with repeated re-al ignment of political parties, there has also been change in the national and inter-national scenario of the role of science in the fulfi l lment of national goals . The changes affected at various lev­els had/have their reflections on the nature of S&T issues raised and discussed in the Parl iament.

970 J SCI IND RES VOL.58 DECEMBER 1 999

For instance, greater representation of peripheral local and regional political parties at the center has led to prominence of inquiries, questioning the role of science in fulfi l l ing the requirements of the re­mote regions of the country. The present day issues of distant regions are more broad based and policy oriented,as compared to those raised in the past. For instance, in the area of health, the Members were inquisitive to know whether any survey has been conducted to study the infant mortality rate in vari­ous states both in urban and rural areas, the results achieved and the measures contemplated i n the health programmes.66

Members belonging to different states inquired about the role of advancement in the areas of tele­communication ,electronics, and information tech­nology in benefiting the masses. In this context, the questions raised included ;inquiries about the ex­pansion of TV network in the remote parts of the country and the children programmes telecast on TV channels to popularise distant education, plans of the government for expansion of infrastructure net­work for electronic media in rural areas, capacity of TV transmitters and whether government is going to increase their capacity. As regards solar energy program the Members were concerned about the state-wise financial assistance provided by the cen­tral government for the solar energy program and whether government had fixed any target for the implementation of these programmes.67

The other i ssues which dominated during the pe­riod included the issues relating to· the global isation policy of government of India (adopted in 1 99 1 ) in view of its relevance in the fulfi llment of the sectoral priorities. For instance, Lok Sabha Members cut­ting through party-line raised a question to the Min­ister of Agriculture, whether agriculture sector has been benefited by the implementation of the eco­nomic reform measures and what has been the in­crease in the annual rate of production through the avai labi l ity of imported inputs at a more competi­tive prices.68 While spel l ing the direction of devel­opment in the country during the Motion of Confi­dence in the Council of Ministers the leader of op­position in Lok Sabha, Atal B ihari Vajpayee stated

that though the country al lows competition ; con­trols and restrictions be kept to the minimum, how­ever, the economic reforms and l iberal ization should have transparency69

BJP Under the Leadership of A tal B ihari Vajpayee (1998-onward)

The General Election to the Twelveth Lok Sabha also resulted in yet another fragmented verdict in marc h 1 99 8 , w h e n Pre s i de n t of I n d i a , K R Narayanan invited the leader of the largest party Atal B ihari Vajpayee of the BJP to form the government. The BJP and i ts 1 3 all ies though contested elections on their respective election manifestos, however, prepared the 'National Agenda' on which there was consensus among its allies. In the National Agenda the leader of the rul ing party committed to: (i) Con­tinue the process of economic reforms (with for­eign direct investment only in the core sector) with thrust on removal of poverty and employment; and (ii) Give greater stress to internal l iberalisation ,care­fully analyzing effects of global isation. The Agenda assured Ind ia ' s i n terests at the Wor l d Trade Organisation (WTO) by adopting a confrontationist approach .?O

However the Twelfth Lok Sabha has emerged, even as a more diverse structure having representa­tion of more than fifty-five pol itical parties. More over about 50 per cent of the Members are new en­trants to the Parl iament without any past legislative experience, maximum being in the BJP party fol­lowed by Congress (I) party. The structural changes have also been accompanied by the changed envi­ronment with those in the opposition occupying the central position and v ice-versa.?'

An overall view of the S&T related del iberations in the Parl iament by the present times makes it ob­vious that the role of the science in the develop­ment has become an establ ished fact in the minds of most Members of the Parl iament. There have been various inquires by the Members about the accu­mulated wealth of the scientific knowledge avai l­able in the country in the form of S&T capabil ities, development of scientific estab l i shments, S&T parks , expend i tu re o n S & T i n the cou ntry,

HARITASH & NABI : S & T POLICY 97 1

programmes of the National Committee on Science and Technology (NCST) for the development and popularization of science, and extra-mural research funding scheme. Apart from the queries about the S&T capabilities acquired by the country,the Mem­bers were also concerned about the excel lence at­tained in different areas of R&D and its appl ica­tions for the users72

There has also been ever-growing awareness and consciousness among the Members about the con­sequences of environment pollution. There has also been perceptible change in the nature of environ-

.... ment related issues del iberated in the Parliament as compared to the issues raised in the previous years. Presently, there are more queries relating to the poli­cies and programmes of forest protection and eco­development and the results achieved by various environment development funds.73

During Vajpayee government's period, the pro­portion of the nuclear pol icy related issues acquired prominence as the Members were highly sensitized over the nuclear tests conducted by Indian scien­t ists at Pokharan, Rajasthan , in may 1 998. There were various controversial issues raised in both the houses after the nuclear tests. There were varying queries on the after effect of the these tests, steps taken to neutral ize the negat ive effects of these blasts, India's future nuclear pol icy and the steps being taken to resolve the controversial issues re-

� lating to testing of the nuclear weapons. While other Members though were appreciative of the capabil i­t ies of the Indian nuclear scientists, however, were equally concerned about the appl ication of nuclear research results in other socio-economic areas .

The Trade-related Intel lectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement of the WTO signed in 1 995, became an issue of Members contention in the re­cent past. In this context the members showed their discontentment over the issue as to why India signed the TRIPs agreement in 1 995 without taking ap­proval of the Parliament. The Members showed their disagreement over the contents of theTRIPs agree­ment and suggested for amendments before signing it . These include: ( i) To defer acceptance of TRIPs for further 1 0- 1 5y, ( i i ) Patent rights, wherever

granted, should be for 5-7 y of 20 y, ( i i i ) Product Patent should be permitted in selected areas to pro­tect the domestic industry, (iv) Reduction of tariff barriers should be on reciprocal basis by mutual bi­lateral agreement among countries, and (v) Ex­change Market rights should be on permitted with corresponding export obligations.

The Rajya Sabha Members, cutting across party l ines, expressed their concern over India's increas­ing instance of non-tariff and tariff barriers in glo­bal trade and asked the government to ensure pro­tection of India's interests at WTO. In Lok Sabha also Members belonging to different polit ical par­ties joined together to inquire from the government about the steps proposed to codify and patent the flora and fauna of the country and all traditional forms of knowledge as embodied in ayurveda and unan i . The controversies for the rules governing in­ternational transfer of knowledge, were also accom­panied by the concern over the environment protec­tion at the global , national and local levels.

6 Conclusions An overal l view of the deliberations in the Par­

l iament reveals that there has been subsequent in­crease in the proportion of S&T pol icy related is­sues from about 3.7 per cent in 50s to about 1 1 per cent in 90s in the overall issues discussed during the 'Question-Hour' period in the Parliament. Cat­egorization of S&T policy related issues i nto differ­ent socio-economic areas reveals that MPs have perceived the importance of the role of science in the development of different socio-economic sec­tors. However, a priority profile of S&T issues in the different sectors reveals a shift in the priorities for developing science in different periods of time. The earlier low priority areas acquiring central po­si tion , whereas the high priority areas attaining pe­ripheral position in the different periods. For in­stance, area of food and agriculture, industry, health, human resource development which were high pri­ority areas in the 50s and 60s were reduced to com­parati vely low priority areas (Table 1 ,Figure 1 ) . Whereas, area of energy, electronics, rural develop­ment acquired prominence in the late 70s and 80s

972 J SCI IND RES VOL.58 DECEMBER 1 999

Table I-Sector-wise Irends in the S&T related questions in Parliament (per cent)

Sector 1 95 1 1 96 1 1 97 1

Energy 1 0.6 2 1 . 8 1 5 Environment 1 .4 0.6 1 .9 Food and Agriculture 23 1 9.4 1 6.6 Industry 20.3 1 1 .9 24.2 Health 1 3 .4 1 3 .8 1 4. 1 Electronics 0.4 I

Hum Res Dev 6.9 8.6 2.5 Nat Res 1 3 .8 1 6 1 1 . 2 Telcommun 3 .2 1 .3 1 .5 Rural Dev 6 1 .7 I Trans 0.4 1 .4 2. 1 Def 3 .7 2 .7 Biosci Soc Dev 3 .2 2 .2 6. 1

over the issues discussed in the other areas . More­over, in the 80s and 90s the environment i ssues which had gained momentum in the late 70s occu­pied dominant place fol lowed by the issues l ike tele­communication , bio-sciences, and science for so­cial development.

The analysis also reveals a general increase in the widespreadness of concern for S&T issues in the Parl iament. Ti l l 80s, about 50 per cent of the MPs asked questions and raised discussions on S&T is­sues in the Parliament. In the 90s, their proportion increased to about 70 per cent Whereas, about one­third of the MPs sti l l do not ask even a single ques­tion on Science. In fact, there is a core group of MPs who have repeatedly raised questions and partici­pated in the discussion on S&T issues held in the Parl iament, though the configuration of core group has kept on changing in different Lok Sabha peri­ods, since the inception of the Parl iament, with the change in i ts membership. Participation of the core group in various debates, and inquiries on specific issues reflected more of their individual attitude to­wards S&T rather then the party ideology to which they belonged. However, there is no coherence in the core group in the form of a pressltre group on 'Science in Parl iament' which could influence government actions on the affairs of science.

The opposition Members are though able to point out various lacunae in the pol icies of the Govern­ment, but most of them do not play any active role in the formulation of national S&T pol icy. The role

1 978 1 988 1 99 2 23.5 2 1 . 1 20.7 4.2 1 7 .3 2 1 .8 1 0.5 1 1 .3 1 3 . 3 1 3 .5 9.6 1 3 .4 20.4 8 .9 6 .9 1 .3 5 .3 2 3 .3 4.6 3 .9 1 2 5 .3 5 .6 0.8 3 .7 5 .8 5 .2 3 . 1 3 .2 1 .7 1 .9 1 .7 1 .3 0.9 1 .2

0.6 1 .7 1 .9 3 .8 4.5

of the opposition Members is l imited to promoting small alterations in the administrative policies of the research institutions through the appointment of Par­l iamentary Committees for the concerned science departments . Most of the time, they uti l ise the par­l iamentary forums in asking on ly informative ques­tions on various issues. Occasional ly, they asked cri tical questions and suggested alternative strate­gies to deal with the particular problems of S&T pol icy. However the views of the rul i ng party and, in fact, the attitude of the rul ing party leader towards science prevai ls .

Even though there has been increase in the num­ber of national and regional pol itical parties repre­senting the views of the people on issues of S&T, however, these parties have sti l l neither brought forth any alternative science pol icy for the country ; nor there has been any attempt on part of the different pol itical party groups to cut-across party l ine and to organise themselves for an alternative science pol icy which is more appropriate and relevant for the na­tion . However, it was only during the Janta period that Members of different ideologies united together and affected changes in the course of path which science had adopted since independence. However, those ideologies could not last long. The National Front coalition party met with the same fate during the Ninth Lok Sabha period.

As far as influence of these del iberations i s con­cerned the study reveals that the indirect influence is more than the direct one on the S&T pol icy of the

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Figure I-Trends in S&T questions i n Parliament (Sector-wise break-up)

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974 J SCI IND RES VOL.58 DECEMBER 1 999

government. There is no suitable mechanism avai l ­able to ensure that the issues discussed by MPs at various forums of the Parliament are duly recog­nized while affecting deci sions on issues pertaining to S&T pol icy.

In the changed scenario of technological dyna­mism, when the country has adpoted the policy of l iberalized import of technologies to come at par with the international standards in S&T and also the country is confronted with varied controversial is­sues involving S&T at an international scene. More­over the emergence of organised public opinion is bui lding up enough pressure on the Parliament to direct the developments in science to benefit the masses. In such situations the Parliament is con­fronted with a double-edged question, i .e . , how to modernise without sacrificing traditions and how to preserve tradi t ions w i thout compromis ing on modernisation. Parliament, in order to prove itself relevant, responsible and true representative of the people have to bring about reforms in its institu­tions through the increased involvement of Mem­bers of Parliament in the affairs of science. In this context, the responsibil ities of the Members of Par­l iament are:

• To bring more and more S&T issues for discus­sions in and outside the Parliament for more democratic decision-making on S&T policy is­sues.

• To organise discussions on S&T issues at vari­ous inter-party forums. Such forums would lead to legitimate debates on S&T policy issues.

• To bring about change in the trend of discus­sions on S&T issues held in the Parl iament by debating these issues on non-partisan basis. This would help in creating an environment of co­operation and interest among the MPs and in putting forth various options in shaping S&T policy of the country.

• To create pressure group in the Parliament of interested MPs for influencing and directing policy decisions on S&T issues.

The fol lowing steps are suggested to the Govern­ment for making available to the MPs the faci lities

and resources needed for their effective participa­tion in the del iberations on S&T policy issues :

• Time allotted for discussions on S&T issues at various forums of the Parl iament be increased.

• Resources should be made avai lable to MPs for securing expert assistance which they need for contributing effectively to Parliamentary com­mittee meeting and discussions held at various forums of the Parliament on S&T issues .

• Al l political parties should be provided with funds to be used exclusively for improving the active participation of MPs in discussions on S&T issues held in the Parliament.

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