NNWN/ Gandhinagar, 2017-01-10

The presence of Nobel laureates in the ongoing Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit for an exhibition has raised eyebrows of the scientists community within the country and outside. Noted scientists welcomed it saying that the presence of so many Nobel Laureates for an event in India was remarkable. Nobel Laureates met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed development programmes in science and technology.  Nobel laureate David Gross on Tuesday today said India has responsibility and an opportunity to be one of the great scientific power centres of the world but added that a "tendency" here "to delay funding" has severely damaged beneficial impact of some major projects. According to him, China is seizing all the available opportunities to lead in the scientific field.

 "India has enormous potential (and) as such India has responsibility and an opportunity to be one of the great scientific power centres of the world in all areas," Gross said at Nobel Dialogues here in response to a question on the country's position in scientific field. He was  participating in the Nobel Dialogue 2017 along with eight other Nobel Laureates.

 "You should have the aspirations and ambitions as set by your Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) yesterday (during the inauguration of Nobel exhibition)," he said.  Prime Minister Modi had yesterday outlined India's ambitious development programme in science and technology during the inauguration of the Exhibition at science city.  "Given its (India) size and ambition and potential, it should not be a minor collaborator in major scientific projects around the world, but it should lead," said Gross, winner of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics.  "India has explored many possibilities to participate and lead in many major scientific projects around the world in the last 10 years but unfortunately when major projects are approved or are about to be approved, the tendency here to delay funding has severely damaged beneficial impact of those projects," he said.