Critics of the Mars mission are asking why India should spend Rs 450 crore on this esoteric mission when there are so many other national priorities. The argument is too simplistic. Moreover, the technological experience of this mission is going to help us in more earthly applications, says Dinesh C Sharma.
The Indian government must support ISRO so that it is able to achieve its goal of becoming self-sufficient in all segments of the space business. The highly successful PSLV programme is a testimony to its capabilities. Now it needs to demonstrate the same with GSLV. Nothing should waver it from this goal. Not even competition with China, says Dinesh C Sharma
The plan to set up a human colony on Mars is a crude joke on unsuspecting and ignorant space enthusiasts, says Dinesh C Sharma.
'When resources are few; when frugality demands repairing a broken thing rather than replacing it with a brand new and expensive option, enterprising commoners in rural and urban India improvise on a daily basis and solve their problems with whatever they have,' observes Shivanand Kanavi.
Orissa learnt its lessons from previous cyclones, particularly the 1999 super cyclone, whereas Uttarakhand has failed to do so from any of the previous natural calamities that hit the state, says Dinesh C Sharma.
Science in India has developed a great deal since C V Raman, particularly after the country gained Independence but we are yet to win a Nobel prize in physics, chemistry or medicine. Is it a reflection on the quality of Indian science? Or it has to do with the politics of Nobel prizes, as is often believed, asks Dinesh C Sharma.
The Ganga agitation and the question of preserving the Himalayan ecology has become a deadly cocktail of politics and religion. Behind the scene, of course, at play are powerful business interests. What is needed is an independent scientific assessment of the problem and preparation of a blueprint for preservation of the Himalayan rivers and associated ecology, says Dinesh C Sharma.
How can 'first food' meet the challenge posed by factory-made 'fast foods' which are backed by marketing money and often come with 'traditional taste' tags attached to them? The first step would be to preserve knowledge about first foods, says Dinesh C Sharma.
A nation that aspires to be a superpower and wants to join the ranks of global leaders in knowledge, science and technology should declare an all out war on ills like superstition and black magic at all levels, says Dinesh C Sharma.
The IPCC has blamed man-made emissions for warming of the globe and long term climate change. Limiting climate change, therefore, will require substantial and sustained reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. This is the message to politicians and policy makers of the world, says Dinesh C Sharma
Senior science journalist, Dinesh C Sharma told rediff.com that the way ahead would require higher public awareness and discourse on these factors and building advocacy for reversing such government policies
Research and teaching have remained Professor Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao's first priority and first love, and that is what sets him apart, says Dinesh C Sharma
The world had lost an opportunity to know long-term toxic effects of Methyl Isocyanate which had leaked from the Union Carbide factory on the night of December 2, 1984, because government research agencies have lost track of a bulk of survivors, says Dinesh C Sharma.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances