The Hindu : `Blend technology with wisdom, humanity'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 18, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

`Blend technology with wisdom, humanity'

By Our Special Correspondent

DHARWAD, JAN. 17. V.K. Aatre, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and Secretary, Department of Defence (R&D), has expressed the view that technology needs to be blended with "a modicum of wisdom and a lot of humanity" to make it serve our needs. Dr. Aatre said this in his convocation address at Karnatak University here today which was read out in his absence by a faculty member. The Governor, T.N. Chaturvedi, who is the Chancellor of the university, presided over the convocation.

Technology, according to Dr. Aatre, had always been a double-edged sword and would remain so. While it had helped get rid of drudgery and helped us lead healthier lives, "it has introduced new challenges". As technology empowered us to control more and more of the world around us, "we need to update our legal and, more importantly, moral conscience as to what is appropriate for human intervention".

He was of the view that science and technology, which seemed to have sowed the seeds of many of the problems facing the world, could be used to solve some of them. Dealing with some of the challenges resulting from the development of technology, Dr. Aatre made a reference to the crisis the world might face regarding the availability of fresh water for meeting irrigation, industrial, and drinking water requirements. Desalination technology had improved dramatically and the cost had come down. However, further technological advancement was necessary to further reduce the cost of desalination to make it more affordable, he said.

In the energy sector, urgent attention had to be given to developing alternative energy sources. Harnessing just one per cent of solar energy could replace all the fossil power plants. Wind energy had become the fastest growing energy source with sustained annual growth rates in excess of 30 per cent. Hydrogen would most probably become the major energy source in future. The burning of fossil fuels was one of the major reasons for greenhouse gases and, therefore, renewable energy technologies had to be taken up in a big way.

Dr. Aatre said that ensuring the supply of food to the world's fast-growing population was an almost insurmountable challenge. The food production system would collapse if the population continued to increase as forecast. Several options could be tried, including transferring food from more prosperous northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere, controlling the birth rate, increasing food production in developing countries, reducing the damage caused by pests to agricultural crops and stored grains, use of biotechnology for increasing crop yield, and exploiting and developing the vast ocean-based food resources.

With the increasing population, insufficiency of nutritious food, environmental pollution, and several other contributing factors, Dr. Aatre said that the ultimate challenge was to provide healthcare to the people.

There was a price to pay for development, he said, adding, "We can approach development with optimism."

G. Parameshwar, Minister for Higher Education and Pro-Chancellor, was present. The Vice-Chancellor, Khajapeer, welcomed the gathering. In all, 18431 students, including 17,999 in absentia, were conferred with degrees at the convocation.

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