Reach out to people: Pranab to scientists

Inaugurating the centenary celebrations of the Indian Science Congress here, the president said: "Public and political understanding of science is crucial. For that, I would like to urge upon you all to apply modern tools for communicating science in a manner that can be understood by the common man."

"This understanding would contribute to the creation of a science culture in the Indian society," he said at the five-day conclave that will see six Nobel laureates, 60 foreign scientists and 15,000 delegates participating.

Citing the example of Indian scientists working a century ago, the president said they delivered lectures in a language that lay people could understand and thus motivated a generation of people to move towards scientific endeavour.

"Culture of excellence is the second nature of creative scientists. Eminent scientists of the world have always been concerned as to how their understanding of natural phenomena could be applied to solve social problems of the future," said Mukherjee.

He also released the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy that aspires to position India among the top five global scientific powers by 2020.

The president said he was delighted to participate in a function that has been co-organised by the Calcutta University as he was an alumnus and remembers the "defining role" of the college in nurturing science.