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present without compromising the needs in the current times. These achievement can
of future generation. In the Indian context, be multiplied several fold if our experiment
we need to identify the areas which cause is adapted by the R&D institutes and
damage to the environment primarily universities in the country. In order to
due to lack of appropriate technology. In succeed in such endeavors, there needs to
this context, let us consider the example be a paradigm shift in the approach to S&T,
of quartz mining in India. In the various i.e., a shift from working on ‘their problems’
parts of the country, large natural quartz to working on ‘our own problems’. The
deposits are mined for export. The price of current measures of achievements in S&T as
the quartz in the international market is adopted by the Indian S&T community are
dependent on its purity, i.e., $ 30 per ton for impact factors and citation index. It is high
99.5% pure quartz while $ 5000 per ton for time that we introduce the measures such as
99.997% pure quartz. What is required in impact on the socio-economic development
this domain is to develop and make available of the country, the potential of job creation
an appropriate technology to purify natural etc. etc. It may be added here that while
Indian quartz to 99.997% purity. We have we have been engaged in the development
developed such a technology which produces of technologies for societal and industrial
high purity quartz with impurity contents applications, we have also published several
(Al, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ti, Zr) less quality research papers for which we received
than 30 ppm. The aim of this development a certificate of appreciation for the Royal
is to empower Indian entities to export low Society of Chemistry for publishing highest
volumes of high purity quartz at high price number of publications in interdisciplinary
rather than high volumes of low purity chemistry in India for the period 2013-
quartz at low price. We believe that this 2015. This is truly a win-win situation.
technology input will have a direct bearing The needs of the country today are new
on the quartz mining in the country and technology, education, skill development and
its environmental impact. In order to help innovations, and all these can be fostered
the exporters to ascertain the purity of their with appropriate research in basic sciences.
quartz material, we have further developed The capital intensive economy needs to
a high purity quartz reference material be changed into an innovation intensive
indigenously in collaboration with National technology and that is what we understand
Physical Laboratory, New Delhi. from Solov’s paper on technological change.
I strongly believe that if the S&T community
Examples discussed above are only some of of India decides to devote the next five years
our achievements of last three years and they in this endeavor, there is nothing to stop us
amply illustrate the strength of science and from achieving our rightful position on this
technology to address the challenges faced planet

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