Food security India's biggest challenge, says ISRO chairman Madhavan Nair

KOCHI: India's biggest challenge is food security for which productivity needs to be improved and it was time for the country to launch a second green revolution, former ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair said.

"As far as India is concerned, our problems are different from that of developed countries. Seventy per cent of the population live in villages and half of them are below poverty line. India's biggest challenge is food security for which productivity has to be increased," he said.

Research needs to be undertaken for proper water management and harvesting for water security, and developing cost efficient methods to harness solar energy and wind energy for energy security, he said in his inaugural address at the six-day Swadeshi Science Congress here.

In the sixties, when there was food shortage, M S Swaminathan launched green revolution, making the country self-sufficient in foodgrain production. But with the ever growing population, there is need to improve productivity and it is time for the second green revolution, he said.

Lamenting that not many were keen to enter the world of scientific research, Nair said students were interested in medical and engineering streams, mainly computer science, and were not keen on taking up core engineering courses. This was a 'waste' of national talent.

It was painful that many students were hesitant to take up scientific research. During the British rule, they wanted Indians to be English speaking clerks. Many countries now need 'IT Coolies', he said.