While it is the responsibility of the nation to become enlightened, it is the job of the State to ensure that every citizen becomes a knowledge worker, said Dr R.A. Mashelkar, Chancellor, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai and former Director-General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.
Speaking to Business Line after delivering the Dhirubhai Ambani oration on reinventing business in India, Dr Mashelkar said, “Everybody should absorb and use knowledge.
“For example, a farmer becomes a knowledge worker if he understands soil, pesticide, etc.”
scientific understanding of issues
A scientific understanding of issues was important, said Dr Mashelkar and pointed out that there was a big controversy around GM foods.
“This is because people don't understand the implications and the benefits. Do benefits outweigh the costs?” Stating that we need to get more from the same resources, he said that the State had a big role to play. “The State has to say that it will be knowledge centric, not just IT centric.”
Earlier, while delivering the Dhirubhai Ambani oration, Dr Mashelkar said that the country needed to develop the potential of the youth.
Trusting young
“We have hesitation in trusting the young. Around 55 per cent of the population is below the age of 25 in India.”
He said that he would love to see 70 per cent of Parliament being flooded by the young. Praising the contributions of Dhirubhai Ambani, Dr Mashelkar said, “Thirty years ago, this company didn't exist, but by 2010, it was contributing three per cent of the country's gross domestic product.”
Dr Mashelkar said that the biggest challenge of governance was the trust deficit and not the fiscal deficit.