Research in India

Friends..
It’s my first shot to write a blog..so don’t know what goes in a blog…
[Wifey told me that I can write about “….any damn thing under the sun”...that was assuring, especially coming from a moderately veteran blogger...so here I am trying my luck..by the way she only gave me the link]
I am a PhD in biochemistry from a not so branded university in India (pun intended with the use of “branded”)..just thought to write something about my experiences of doing PhD…I am sure many of you who would read it, would concur with me on certain issues..several of you won’t be in agreement with even a single word…but since this is my space (that too for free), I can write anything I want..without actually being compassionate for people’s emotions….
Guys, I don’t know what do u believe, but I very strongly feel that the research scene in India is not very rosy, specially the scientific research. A very significant proof is the number of good quality publications in high-quality peer reviewed scientific journals. Worldwide, we contribute for a microscopic percent of first-rate publications on PubMed. Indians are a rarity on the scene……so what do u think..where have we gone wrong?? I think it’s a food for thought, for everyone, especially the policy makers.
Do we really have scarcity of intelligent people who can think scientifically…I think the answer is an emphatic NO…so does the problem lies in the fact that our primary education system is not competent to give us world class brains? The answer is again a NO, since we have seen that there are so many Indians doing well for them and for our country coming from the same education system. So where exactly is the problem??
I think the problem is twofold, one; the charm of doing research in India is not very great, both monetarily and intellectually, and second, the government setup makes it very difficult for a talented scientist to grow in his/her future.
My own experience says, that it’s not very simple to motivate yourself daily to go to the lab and conduct experiments with limited resources (plz bear in mind that I am talking about the not so known university labs in the country, which gives a major chunk of PhD graduates in India). The bureaucracy, red tapes, babus in the system makes it a point to harass a young researcher to no end. I also think that the quality of people doing research is not very great; the reason could be lack of control. In my country, anyone who wants to pursue PhD gets a chance and ultimately a PhD degree. THERE IS NO CONTROL. So ultimately, we churn out so many doctorates in a year that it is difficult to imagine that India is considered a backward country as far as research scene is concerned. Also, the bright minds, who do well for themselves, aims for a post-doc in US, Britain, France, Germany etc…and finally settle for an assistant ship and ultimately a career overseas.
I strongly feel that this needs to be altered; there needs be more attraction for basic and applied research in my country. Our policy makers need to be more sensitive towards the young minds that wants make their name, in spite of all the adversaries. The hard earned money of the tax payer needs to be spent more astutely. The universities need to be supported a bit more. The scholarship and opportunities to work in reputed national labs needs to be greater than before.
This is not all…I also think that there should be a grilling entrance exam for all the aspirants who want to be future researchers. The exam could be on the lines of the entrance exam of armed forces, i.e. a written exam followed by an interview, and psychological test to check if the guy is ready for the battle field. This is however, just a suggestion…everyone has all the right to disagree.
The ideas can be stupid..but the vision is that my country should shine bright in research also!!!!
With the kind of mind and talent pool we have, it’s not impossible.
We just need to ask ourselves (just like the army slogan)… “DO YOU HAVE IT IN YOU”!!!!!