Research in fundamental science needed for country to prosper: DRDO

No country can prosper if research does not take place in areas of fundamental science, DRDO Chairman G Satheesh Reddy said on April 16 and urged the youth to work in that domain for a technologically stronger India.

He was addressing a house full of youths from high schools and colleges at a seminar on Mission Shakti, an anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test conducted by India. Reddy, in his address, also reiterated that the ASAT test India conducted on March 27 really boosted the morale of scientists, and shared a few anecdotes to make his point.

“On March 28 morning, a DRDO scientist who lives in Delhi had a visit from a newspaper boy, who just wanted to meet him after reading the news. And, then another scientist from Vizag, who was in Delhi, had an unusual situation, when an auto-rickshaw driver gave him back the extra money he had charged beyond the due fare, after he saw him getting down at DRDO office,” he said. These two incidents really show how people reacted to the news, Reddy said.

Reddy recently had told reporters that India had chosen a much lower orbit of less than 300 km during Mission Shakti for “capability demonstration” and to avoid threat of debris to global space assets. In his address, he also exhorted the youth of the country to give time to research in areas of fundamental science. “No country can prosper if research does not take place in areas of fundamental science,” he said, adding, the academia, research and development and the industry are the three important components in promoting research.