According to a meeting minutes exposed by Indian media, government authorities plan to cancel most of the country's science and technology awards, shrinking from a total of more than 300 to almost single digits. After the news broke, government officials did not come forward to deny the authenticity of the minutes, so the matter caused great controversy in India.
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The minutes mentioned that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has long believed that the number of science and technology awards and winners should be limited, and the selection process should be made more transparent. But it is not clear whether the stakes are so complex that the measures the government intends to take are more like a reinvention: India's Ministry of Science and Technology will retain only 4 of its 211 awards, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research will cancel or merge 6 of its 7 awards, and the Ministry of Earth Sciences will cancel 3 of its 4 awards. The Ministry of Atomic Energy, Space and Health will cancel all 45 awards, while the Indian Council of Medical Research will cancel 34 of the 37 awards. These range from awards set up by the Indian government and scientific organizations, as well as many from private donations.
Another development partially corroborates this rumor. Every year on September 26, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) announces the winners of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award, which is given to scientists under the age of 45 for their outstanding contribution to science and technology in India. This is the most important award in Indian science, but this year it has been quiet. The minutes mentioned that the Indian government plans to launch a new prize, the Vigyan Ratna Prize, declaring that it will be India's version of the Nobel Prize.
The news came as a shock to the Indian scientific community, and while the transparency of Indian science and technology prizes has been questioned, such a large-scale cancellation was unexpected. Tapasya Srivastava, a geneticist at Delhi University's South Campus, believes that in some cases, scientists on the selection committee select nominees because of their affiliation, rather than based on academic merit. Aniket Sule, an associate professor at the Tata Institute of Basic Research in Mumbai, agrees, arguing that many prizes must have flawed selection processes and that scientists want reforms, but simply canceling the prize would be too much. "Scientists aren't going to be happy just because they're getting some extra money, it's important to them that they're credited and their work is recognized." The current system may not be perfect, but something is better than nothing."
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The news has also frustrated doctoral students who are trying to build their careers. The All India Research Scholars Association, which represents young researchers, said the government was indifferent to the need for young researchers to persevere on low wages, and that scrapping the awards now would further increase their frustration. Krishna Kumar Agrahari, a PhD student in chemistry at Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, said: "If a young researcher receives an award for innovative research, he is psychologically energetic and motivated, which is a huge inspiration. And if they are told that no one will affirm their efforts later, it will negatively affect and destroy our morale. I know many researchers who have dropped out of science due to financial problems and life setbacks, and the government should not continue to dampen their motivation. ”
Many awards have a special commemorative significance, and their cancellation means thoughtless forgetting. For example, the Dr. Anna Mani Award for Women in Science was initiated by the Department of Earth Sciences to promote women's participation in Earth science research. The Major-Gen. Sahib Singh Sokay Award is perhaps the only one named after a forgotten medical hero of the twentieth century whose contributions to infectious disease research cannot be denied. The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) award honors Dr. Subhash Mukherjee, a "test-tube" pioneer whose work in reproductive sciences never paid off.
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Just as people can't rely solely on impact factors or h-indices to evaluate scientific results, they still have important existential value. Although most scientists do not engage in research to win awards, rewarding and affirming is still one of the effective ways to motivate this group to keep moving forward, and from the perspective of the whole society, science and technology award news that makes headlines every three or five times can also improve the sense of existence of the scientific community, not only to attract young people to join, but also to regularly remind the public to think a little: what is one of the main driving forces that really sustain and promote the existence and development of modern society.
Bibliography:
1.https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-03286-3
2.https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/outcry-among-scientists-as-indian-government-moves-to-slash-awards/4016363.article
3.https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/comment/abolishing-science-awards-is-demotivating-438466