Underscoring the importance of research in the country, Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy said that it was a matter of unimaginable shame that an India-made cough syrup was responsible for the deaths of 66 children in Gambia, and that it has dented the credibility of the country's pharmaceutical regulatory agency.
Murthy made the remarks while announcing the winners of the Infosys Science Prize at the Infosys Science Foundation in Bengaluru. Four cough syrups made by the Indian pharmaceutical company Maiden Pharmaceuticals have been linked to these deaths.
He added that research in the sciences is very important for a developing country like India that aspires to join the developed world.
"Research thrives in an environment of honor and respect for intellectuals, meritocracy, and the support and approbation they receive from the society. Therefore, recognising and rewarding the outstanding research efforts of Indian researchers is necessary… Scientific research is about curiosity, daring, healthy skepticism, and questioning the status-quo," he said.
Even though two Indian companies produced the COVID vaccines that were administered to a billion Indians and many Indians have won prestigious awards and recognitions in the field of science and research, there are still many challenges, he said.
He also said that the Covid vaccines are based on technology or research from developed countries and that India hasn't developed a vaccine for dengue or chikungunya yet.
The Infosys founder, who is also a trustee of the Infosys Science Foundation, stated that there are two critical components for research success, and money isn't the most important one.
"The first component is to reorient our teaching in schools and colleges towards Socratic questioning and relating what they learn in the classroom to the real world around them rather than passing examinations by rote learning. Even our IITs have become victims of this syndrome, thanks to the tyranny of coaching classes," he said.
The second was for our researchers to concentrate on solving immediate problems, he said. "Such a mindset will inevitably lead to solving bigger challenges," he added.
Murthy also noted that there is not a single Indian institution of higher education in the top 250 of the World University rankings in 2022.
The Infosys Science Prize had six categories for contributions to science and research in India. The category winners will each get $100,000.
The winners of in the six categories include:
- Mathematical Sciences: Prof Mahesh Kakde of the Indian Institute of Science
- Physical Sciences: Nissim Kanekar of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
- Social Sciences: Rohini Pande of Yale University
- Humanities: Sudhir Krishnaswamy of the National Law School of India University
- Life Sciences: Vidita Vaidya of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
- Engineering and Computer Science: Prof Suman Chakraborty of IIT Kharagpur.
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