Reprinted from: V.M. Tiwari and A.K. Singhvi (2025), Scientific Enterprise in India —Past Achievements, Present Trends and Future Challenges (Eds). Indian
National Science Academy, New Delhi, pp. i-xiv+ 1-388
Overcoming Challenges of Doing Science in India: A Personal Perspective
Scope
Science in India has thrived against odds and developed due to individual and collective dreams, passions, perseverance and strategic ingenuity with minimal resources. The article showcases that when leaders dream beyond constraints, nurture young minds, and align curiosity with national purpose, world-class science becomes possible anywhere. The importance of institutional ecosystems, exposure of young minds to the frontiers of science, and a visionary administrative support is highlighted. This “toolbox” offers suggestions for young scientists and policymakers alike to dream audaciously, invest in mentorship and teamwork, democratize technology, build flexible network of institutions and support it with enabling administrative firmament, that facilitates new science and translation of such discoveries into societal good. Success in
science lies in the joy of the journey with both passion and compassion, not only in reaching the destination.
Introduction
Over the past five decades, the way of doing science has gone through a major changes, especially in the biological sciences. The advent of molecular biology and the completion of the Human Genome Project have redefined both the scale and the spirit of enquiry. During this period, the Indian economy and science landscape have also undergone a phenomenal change. It transformed from individual excellence under resource constraints, import substitution and economic sanctions to technological leadership. One thing that has not changed is the need to ask the most appropriate questions and the innate desire to synergistically pursue both individual and collective dreams. The scientific enterprise has moved from a single principal investigator (PI) driven small laboratory initiative (Science1.0) to mega science, involving many laboratories and diverse expertise, like the Human Genome Project, or the Indian Genome Variation Project (Science 2.0) to the crowdsourcing of knowledge and expertise for projects like Mapping the Human Brain or Open-Source Drug Discovery (OSDD, Science 3.0). We now stand at the threshold of new frontiers (Science 4.0) wherein AI driven tools like Alpha fold 2.0, Chat GPT 5.0 and Google Gemini or IBM Watson will be a part of the research team. We have also entered an era when Nobel Prizes in science, especially in life sciences are shared by scientists for their work done in commercial companies and startups.
This article presents a personal perspective of the author who has been a practitioner and a keen observer of Indian science for over five decades. The key learnings are:
* “Dream big, pursue your dream with passion and rest will fall in place”.
* “Scientific aspirations should exceed the available resources, expertise and technologies”.
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Author’s Address: 1Academy Professor, Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) CSIR-HRDC
Campus, Postal Staff College Area, Sector 19, Kamla Nehru Nagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh-201002
*B101, Karle Zenith Apartment, 100 Ft Kempapura Road, Nagavara, Bengaluru 560 045
Email: skb@igib.in