India's atomic energy programme needs a boost: Kakodkar

THANE (MAHA): Eminent nuclear scientist Anil Kakodkar has expressed confidence that India will give necessary boost to the national atomic energy programme in the near future.

"The nuclear bomb test explosions conducted by India in 1974 and 1998 changed the way the world looked at us. However, India's pace in this direction (atomic energy programme) needs to be boosted further," he said at a function in Kalyan on Saturday.

"We should make proper utilisation of our technology which is the need of the hour," Kakodkar, former chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, said.

Advocating the use of atomic energy, the scientist said, "If we utilise atomic energy in a proper way, we can save on the expenses incurred for importing fuel."

Kakodkar said he had never planned to become a nuclear scientist.

"After completing engineering, I decided to do something new and took admission in Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)," he said.

The eminent scientist also had a word of advice for parents scrambling to put their children in English medium schools.

"I completed my education in Marathi till class 5, then studied in Hindi medium and then in English medium when I was in college. Parents today are making the unnecessary issue of English as medium of language in schools and thereby pressurising children," he said.

"The school education of our children should be in their mother tongue, then in Hindi medium and then in English medium," said Kakodkar.

He exhorted that children should not be imparted only bookish knowledge, but simultaneously given practical education and training.

During his interaction, Kakodkar made a mention of a survey carried out by the US recently.

"The survey was about people who had come to the US from other countries and contributed towards the country's economy. In the survey, Indians stood first," he said.