In an attempt to address the “lack of diversity,” the Indian National Academy of Sciences also selects non-scientists as fellows.

The list of fellows of the Indian National Science Academy includes famous personalities such as Sudha Murthy. File | Photo credit: The Hindu

The annual list of fellows announced by the Indian National Academy of Sciences, founded 90 years ago and one of the most prestigious assemblies of scientists in the country, stands out this year for its departure from the traditional practice of ‘academy. The list features a phalanx of famous Indians who are not professional scientists.

These include Sudha Murthy, Rajya Sabha MP, author and former chairman of Infosys Foundation; her husband NR Narayanamurthy; two of his Infosys co-founders, Nandan Nilekani and Krish Gopalakrishnan; and Rajendra Singh, water advocate and founder of the Tarun Bharat Sangh.

“While the majority of our fellows are associated with the creation of science, we must have at least 20% of them associated with the consumption and use of science to create opportunities,” said Ashutosh Sharma, president of INSA. The Hindu. The decision to introduce new categories of fellows was part of a broader effort to address the “lack of diversity.” This involves not only improving the representation of women and youth, but also of different stakeholders who have contributed to science in India, beyond traditional academic scientists, he added.

Ms. Murthy’s presence, Mr. Sharma said, was in her capacity as former chairwoman of the Infosys Foundation, which funded scientific research. He also cited the inclusion of Mr. Gopalakrishnan, who has invested in several areas of basic research. “People who engage in funding basic scientific research must be recognized. If we want more private funding for R&D, we need to bring these people on board because they are stakeholders in science,” Mr Sharma said.

Even though several notable industrialists are now included, this will set the pattern for recognition of future contributors in the areas of deep tech and space entrepreneurs, Sharma added.

Indian science academies, steeped in tradition, normally have a process by which fellow scientists nominate their peers – usually from universities or research institutes – after an assessment of their publications and contribution to their scientific fields respective.

In fact, the demarcation between “scientist” and “non-scientist” was so strict in the past that Satish Dhawan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) from 1972 to 1984, was only elected an “honorary member”. » that in 1984. a special category with Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and JRD Tata.

To accommodate non-scientific candidates, INSA introduced two new categories of scholarship holders this year: “Science in translation” and “Science in society”.

To be eligible in the “Translation” category, the candidate must have demonstrated scientific leadership in the field of “Science-based innovation; Industrial research and development; Technological missions of national importance; and in the management of scientific institutions.

For the “Society” category, the candidate must have applied science to questions of energy, water and health, or have carried out scientific popularization work or used science to have a societal impact, indicates an explanatory note on the INSA website.

The idea that science academies should consist only of those who “create” science and fail to recognize those who “use it” is “outdated,” Mr. Sharma stressed. This year’s inclusion of S. Somanath, former chairman of ISRO and VK Saraswat, former head of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and member of the NITI Ayog, was based on their leadership in scientific institutions, added Mr. Sharma.

P. Balaram, member of INSA and former director of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), said that even though he was not actively involved in INSA, the problem of recognition of those who have contributed enormously to Indian science but without sufficient scientific publications was an old problem. A. “Many years ago, there was the problem of including (former president) APJ Abdul Kalam and Satish Dhawan because they had not published research papers for many years during their mandate,” he said. The Hindu. The latest decision by the INSA to grant scholarships “en masse” to non-scientists does not seem very “judicious” because they are all “very rich” and their links with science “tenuous”. “Maybe I’m conservative, but I would worry about that,” he noted.