Inaugurating the 98th Indian Science Congress at SRM University near Chennai on Monday, he said big discoveries have influenced society through new technological options which have offered benefits to humankind but sometimes have been used for more harmful purposes as well. Dr. Singh said, scientific knowledge was applied for destructive purposes and cited the examples of experiments in eugenics in Nazi Germany and the use of poison gas in wars.
Calling for debate on the need for developing ethics for the scientific community, Dr. Singh posed a number of questions for the scientists to ponder over. The Prime Minister asked whether scientists should develop a code of conduct that defines the limits within which they will work on the application of their discoveries.
Dr Singh called upon scientists to develop an ethical framework that defines red lines that they must not cross.
Dr. Singh presented awards of the Indian Science Congress Association to 26 eminent scientists including five Nobel laureates – V. Ramakrishnan, Martin Chalfie, R. Timothy Hunt, Thomas Steitz, and Ada E. Yonath.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Human Resource Development D. Purandeswari has said that the centre is taking efforts towards building consensus on every issue that concerns education. She said, there is the need for a common ground among stake holders to carry out reforms in the education sector.
Mrs Purandeswari regretted that there had been no consensus on the issue of common entrance examination for professional courses. Stating that the centre was planning to formulate a national framework for vocational education, she said that the Ministry had held consultations with automobile sector, information technology sector and IT-enabled services.