The Scientific India
February 19, 2007
In this page, I am trying to collect some links on science in India.(This page is under construction .)
- Science (Educational and Research Institutions) (See this list from TIFR).
- Science Magazines in India : (and science communication in general)
- The Indian Academy of Sciences “founded and registered as a society in 1934 with the aim to promote the progress and uphold the cause of science, both in pure and applied branches.” It publishes two science magazines -
- Current Science online – “Current Science, founded in 1932 is published by the Current Science Association in collaboration with the Indian Academy of Sciences . The journal is also intended as a medium for communication and discussion of important issues that concern science and scientific activity.”
- Resonance – “Resonance is a journal of science education, published monthly by the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore … primarily directed at students and teachers at the undergraduate level, though some of the articles may go beyond this range. “
- Indian Science Communication Society – “a voluntary and non-governmental organisation established in 1994 by a group of self motivated professionals, Science writers and Scientists driven by the visionary zeal and passions to popularise science and scientific temper among the Indian masses.” which publishes Indian Journal of Science Communication .
- Vigyan Prasar “an autonomous organisation setup by the Government of India’s Department of Science and Technology in 1989, to undertake large scale science popularisation tasks in the country.” You can find in its website -
- Indian National Science Academy, (formerly The National Institute of Sciences of India) – has published the India Science Report [PDF] and a volume titled Pursuit and Promotion of Science: The Indian Experience[PDF]
- The Indian Science Congress Association, Kolkata “was formed with the following objectives : to advance and promote the cause of science in India; to hold an annual congress at a suitable place in India; to publish proceedings, journals, transactions, etc; to popularise science.” It publishes a bi-monthly journal titled Everyman’s Science.
- National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (NISCAIR) publishes
- Science Reporter
- Vigyan Pragati(Hindi)
- Science ki Duniya(Urdu).
- Other science journals include Jantar Mantar “a science bimonthly in english published by Tamil Nadu science forum”.
- There are various “People Science Movements” led by organisations like
Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) ,
Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samithi (BGVS). - A lot of resources related to popular science and people science movements(including a description of various science toys) can be found at the website maintained by Arvind Gupta .
- For a bit more detailed overview of Science communication in India, have a look at the paper titled “Science communication in India: current situation, history and future developments” by Marzia Mazzonetto (Journal of Science Communication 4 (1), March 2005 )
Abstract : Nowadays, India is experiencing a widespread diffusion of science communication activities. Public institutions, non-governmental organisations and a number of associations are busy spreading scientific knowledge not only via traditional media but also through specific forms of interaction with a varied public. This report aims to provide a historical overview of the diffusion of science communication in India, illustrating its current development and its future prospects.
- SciDev.Net has a section on South-Asia . It also has an E-Guide to science communication.
- The Indian Academy of Sciences “founded and registered as a society in 1934 with the aim to promote the progress and uphold the cause of science, both in pure and applied branches.” It publishes two science magazines -
- Women in Science :
- Women in Science page (Indian Academy of Sciences)
- A report on Science Career for Indian Women by Indian National Science Academy [Pages 1-17][Pages 18-55]
[Pages 56-67]
- Science scholarships,fellowships and undergraduate research :
March 1, 2007 at 6:00 am
Today I came across a pamphlet titled India: The uneven innovator[PDF] published this Jan. It is a part of a UK-funded study of science and innovation in various Asian countries and is an interesting read.
August 12, 2008 at 8:32 am
Those of a scientific and disposition may be interested in my recently published work “Unusual Perspectives”
It is aimed at the general reader. While some of the interpretations presented are very radical, they are firmly grounded in our best current understandings of Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
A brief description follows – more to be found on website:
Using skeins of understanding drawn from a variety of apparently disparate fields of knowledge which include Chemistry, Biology, Engineering, Cosmology and Information Technology, this significant work weaves a fabric which displays striking patterns relating to the overall nature of the wonderful process that we call “life”.
These patterns not only underline the seemingly inevitable chance-mediated evolution of organic life-forms with which we are familiar, but also strongly suggest that the concept of a “life process” can be usefully extended to include precursors such as stellar/supernoval nucleosynthesis and products, such as the current exponential growth of technology. This present progression is seen to have underlying “free-market” mechanisms very closely analogous to those of Darwinian evolution. Extrapolation of this very clear trend results in a very counter-intuitive but quite compelling vision of the future. A future that, because the process is exponential, might be upon us in but a few decades. A future dominated by a new endogenous life-form. A future in which humankind, if not ready to make the radical adaptations required, may well perish.