GM crop trail should not be stalled: RA Mashelkar

Eminent scientist and Bharat Ratna Prof CNN Rao recently said science curriculum in the country has lost its relevance. Your comment.
I think what he meant to say was that curriculum was not keeping pace with the time. My observation is a little different. I feel curricula are being revised regularly but excellence and relevance must go together. Young students must be encouraged to innovate. Research must be made compulsory for undergraduates.

There has been a prolonged debate over trails of genetically modified crops, a field trail of which was recently stalled by Centre after pressure from the anti-GM lobby. What is your take on the issue?
There are two pressure groups working on the issue — one is preventive, which rejects it outright, and the other is persuasive, which wants a large-scale use. I have a different view. In my opinion, we must go ahead with the field trail of GM crops. There could be risks involved, but there are scientific ways to identify and address those issues. We must take precautions, but trial must not be stalled.

Is there any workable idea to boost innovation in the country?
The National Innovation Council had proposed to Centre sometime back that MPs must be allowed to start annual innovation competitions in their constituency for which they must be allowed to spend MPLAD. The proposal was approved recently. Now, MPs must take this forward to identify best innovators in their area. We can get 545 innovators from across India this way. Moreover, we also have 31 state innovation councils. They have been chalking out various programmes to support the grass root innovators from the remotest part of their state. Maharashtra State Innovation Council also plans to start tod-fod-jod (break-assemble) centres very soon, where kids would be allowed tap into their creativity.

A lot of innovative ideas and inventions are coming from commoners, villages and towns, but not from the IITs, particularly if we consider the amount of funds they receive. Why?
It's true that India is witnessing a surge in innovation from the grass roots. The national innovation foundation has compiled over 2 lakh innovative ideas, many of them amazing. We award and support the best ones. Innovations are coming from IITs as well, but they can definitely do more.

You served for 11 years as the director general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (which oversees world's largest chain of publicly funded research institutions). Which government was most supportive towards research and science?
I worked with five different prime ministers. All of them extended full support to scientific work. It was the BJP government which revised Lal Bahadur Shastri's slogan to "Jai jawan, Jai Kisan and Jai Vigyan" in 1998, giving a major push to science.