'Planning Commission not keen on accepting new ideas'

CHENNAI: The Planning Commission and some research organisations are not keen on accepting new and innovative ideas from scientists, a senior Indian Space Research Organisation ( ISRO) official alleged.

"The Planning Commission, ICAR, all have said we have already done it (the new idea suggested). If you come up with a new idea, they will say they have already done it. Because they have a paper and a project for everything (every idea they have suggested) Y S Rajan, an honorary distinguished professor at ISRO, told reporters here.

Calling himself an "empirical scientist," he said "I will see what is there in the ground."

Asked if UIDAI cards being given to people by government can alone solve people's problems, he said, "You cannot solve problems with an identity...I cannot give knowledge through a card...The problem with India is we think everything can be done by computer. Computer has got usefulness but less limited applications."

Rajan earlier delivered the Bharat Ratna C Subramaniam Memorial Lecture here.