INDIAN NATIONAL SCIENCE ACADEMY - Indian Institute of Science

INDIAN NATIONALSCIENCE ACADEMY

Science academies play a crucial role in promoting, recognizing and rewarding excellence. Another important task is to publish journals, organize

scientific discussions and bring out proceedings and monographs. The academies promote public awareness and understanding of science.

Acting as links between the scientific community and the planners, they advise the governments on critical issues. Importantly they serve asforums for interaction among scientists within and outside the country.

In this section the growth of the Indian National Science Academy and itsfunctions are highlighted.

FOUNDATION

The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) isthe apex body of Indian scientists representing

all branches of science and technology. Its objectivesencompass promotion of science in India includingits application to national welfare, safeguarding theinterests of the scientists, establishing linkages withinternational bodies to foster collaboration andexpressing considered opinion on national issues.The foundation of the Academy in 1935, originally asthe National Institute of Sciences in India (NISI), wasthe outcome of the joint endeavours of several orga-nizations and individuals. The Indian ScienceCongress Association (ISCA), the active associationof Indian scientists of the time, played a leading rolein its genesis.

Towards the end of the 1930Õs, the Governmentof India addressed letters to various provincialGovernments, scientific departments, learnedsocieties, universities and to the ISCA seeking theiropinion on the desirability of forming a NationalResearch Council which would adhere to and co-operate with the International Research Council andits affiliated Unions. This proposal was consideredby various eminent scientists whose viewsregarding the composition and functioning of sucha national council were put up in the form of aresolution to the ISCA.

In May 1933, an editorial was published in thejournal, Current Science, outlining the views of itseditors about the founding of an Indian Academy

of Sciences. In September of the same year, theBoard of Editorial Cooperators of Current Scienceissued a questionnaire on the subject and invitedopinions of Indian scientists. The scientists ofKolkata who jointly considered the questionnaireand in view of the accepted position of the ISCA asan all-India scientific body, made a formal requestthat all proposals for establishing the Academy beincluded in the agenda of the General Committeeof the ISCA for discussions at its Mumbai session.

In this session, Meghnad Saha, in hisPresidential address, referred in detail to theproposal to form an Indian Academy of Sciencesand suggested a scheme for its formation on themodel of the Royal Society of London. It wasthereafter discussed in a special meeting of theGeneral Committee of the ISCA on January 3, 1934.The General Committee constituted the AcademyCommittee. The report of the Academy Committeewas placed by L.L. Fermor, President of the 20thSession of the ISCA before a Special Meeting of theJoint Committee, on January 3, 1935. Therecommendations of the Academy Committee wereaccepted after a unanimous resolution by the ISCAand the foundation of the National Institute ofSciences of India (NISI), as an all-India body ofscientists, was thus laid. An inaugural meeting ofthe NISI was held on January 7, 1935 at CalcuttaUniversity. The Institute started functioning withits Headquarters at the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1Park Street, Kolkata, from that day.

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INAUGURAL MEETING

The Inaugural Meeting of the National Institute of Sciences of India was held in the Senate Hall of theUniversity of Calcutta at 5.30 P.M. on Monday January 7, 1935. J.H.Hutton, President of the Indian

Science Congress, was in the chair, supported by L.L.Fermor, President of the National Institute ofSciences of India. His Excellency Sir John Anderson, Governor of Bengal, had been invited to inauguratethe National Institute.

A large number of scientists had gathered from all parts of India. The eminent public men ofKolkata present at the meeting included Judges of the High Court, Members of the Government ofBengal, the Mayor of Kolkata, the Vice-Chancellor of the Calcutta University, representatives of theeducational and scientific institutions, the learned societies, and the Chambers of Commerce ofCalcutta, University teachers and many others. Among those present mention may be made of: SirHarold Darbyshire, Hon. R.N.Reid, Hon. Sir B.L.Mitter, Hon. Nawab Bahadur, Sir K G M Faroqui,Hon. Khan Bahadur Abdul Aziz, Syama Prasad Mukerjee, Hon. Kunwar Jagadish Prasad, NaliniRanjan Sarkar, and 62 (out of 125) Foundation Fellows of the Academy.

J.H Hutton, while inviting His Excellency Sir John Anderson, Governor of Bengal, toinaugurate the Institute, stated: Your Excellency, a year ago under the guidance of Professor Saha, theIndian Science Congress appointed a Committee to draft a constitution for and to take the necessary stepto bring into being, a national scientific body which should perform for India some of those functions whichthe Royal Society performs for Great Britain. That Committee, not without meeting difficulties, has carriedout the work for which it was appointed, and the constitution drafted has been accepted by the IndianScience Congress. It remains to call the body into existence, and I have the honour, as representing theIndian Science Congress in 1935 of asking Your Excellency to inaugurate the National Institute of Scienceof India.

John Anderson delivered a brief address and then inaugurated the National Institute. ThereafterL.L. Fermor, President of the National Institute of Sciences of India delivered his Inaugural Address.Both these addresses are preserved in the archives of the academy. After the PresidentÕs address, S.P.Agharkar, one of the Secretaries of the National Institute, read out the list of names of the learnedbodies that had sent representatives and messages of congratulations to the National Institute on itsinauguration. Good wishes for the success of the National Institute had been received by the Presidentfrom the following members of the Governor GeneralÕs Council: the Hon. Sir James Grigg, the Hon.Sir Fazl-i-Husain, and the Hon. Sir Frank Noyce and also from three eminent scientists of India, SirJ.C. Bose, Sir Martin O.Forster and Sir P.C.Ray.

The historic meeting was concluded by S.P.Agharkar proposing a vote of thanks followed by ajoyful celebration.

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The issue of Government recognition of the NISIas the representative body of Indian scientists cameup ten years after its foundation. After due deliberationand discussions, the Government decided to recognizethe National Institute as the premier scientific societyrepresenting all branches of science in India in October,1945. The Headquarters of the National Institute weremoved to Delhi University to a large hall presentlylocated in the Department of Botany in May 1946. TheGovernment commenced providing increased grantsto the Institute to meet expenses on travel,publications, research fellowships, and for allocatinggrants-in-aid to other scientific societies for bringingout their publications. Acapital grant for the buildingof the Headquarters was also sanctioned in 1948. Thefoundation stone of the building was laid by PrimeMinister Jawaharlal Nehru on April 19, 1948. Thebuilding was ready for occupation in 1951 on BahadurShah Zafar Marg, New Delhi. NISI was designated theadhering organization to the International Council forScience (ICSU) on behalf of the Government of India inJanuary, 1968.

The name of the National Institute of Sciencesin India was changed to Indian National ScienceAcademy (INSA) in 1970.

INSA’S OBJECTIVES

The main objectives of the Indian National ScienceAcademy are:

● Promotion of scientific knowledge in Indiaincluding its practical application to problemsof national welfare.

● Co-ordination among scientific academies,societies, institutions, the Government scientificdepartments and services.

● To act as a body of scientists of eminence for thepromotion and safeguarding of the interests ofscientists in India and to present internationallythe scientific work done in the country.

● To act through properly constituted nationalcommittees, in which other learned academiesand societies may be associated, for undertakingscientific work of national and internationalimportance which the Academy may be calledupon to perform by the public and by theGovernment.

● To publish such proceedings, journals, memoirsand other publications as may be founddesirable.

● To promote and maintain the liaison betweensciences and humanities.

● To secure and manage funds and endowmentsfor the promotion of science.

● To perform all other acts that may assist in, or benecessary for the fulfilment of the above mentioned objectives of the Academy.

ORGANIZATION AND FELLOWSHIP

The Academy consists of Foundation Fellows,Fellows and Foreign Fellows.

a Foundation Fellows were those 125 scientistswho had accepted nomination before theinauguration of the Academy.

b Indian citizens who are elected according to therules of election are admitted as Fellows.

c Foreign Fellows are those persons who areeminent for their knowledge of, or contributionsto science, or the welfare thereof, and domiciledoutside the territorial limits of India, who have in

The Convention Centre and the Jubilee building of

the Academy premises.

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some way contributed or can contribute to theprogress of science in the country. Citizens of allcountries other than India are eligible for theForeign Fellowship of the Academy.

The task of administration, direction andmanagement of the affairs of the Academy isentrusted to a Council composed of the Board ofOfficers of the Academy, namely, a President and sixVice-Presidents and 20 other Fellows making a totalof 27. The Vice-Presidents have collective as well asindividual responsibilities assigned for variouscategories such as: Fellowship Affairs; SciencePromotion; Resource Management; InternationalAffairs; Publications/Informatics; and Science andSociety. In addition, there is provision for additionalmembers of the Council, one each to be nominatedby the co-operating Academies i.e., the AsiaticSociety, Kolkata; the National Academy of Sciences(India), Allahabad and the Indian Science CongressAssociation, from amongst the Fellows of theAcademy. Further, The Government of India

nominates one member from amongst the Fellowsof the Academy as its representative on the Council.

The Council oversees all activities of theAcademy through various standing committees,advisory committees and sub-committees appointedfor the purpose. The Council deals with all decisionsin relation to election of Fellows, Foreign Fellows,selection of INSA Young Scientists, INSA MedalAwardees, matters relating to local chapters andchanges or modifications of the rules and regulationsof the Academy and other matters as may be referredto the Academy from time to time.

Election of Fellows: Nomination for election toFellowship of the Academy is proposed, secondedand supported by a minimum of four Fellows. Ofthese, at least three should have personalknowledge of the scientific attainments of thenominee. The valid nomination papers arescrutinised by concerned discipline-wise SectionalCommittees and/or interdisciplinary committeesand their recommendations are considered by theCouncil. The list drawn up by the Council, notexceeding 30, is circulated to the Fellowship for

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Indira Gandhi arriving to inaugurate the Golden

Jubilee Celebrations of the Academy in January 1984.

voting. The Fellowship of those elected becomeseffective on January 1 of the ensuing year.

In addition to the election of Fellows which isrestricted to persons holding Indian citizenship,Foreign Fellowship proposals are received from theFellowship. These are considered by the Councilwhose recommendations in this regard arecirculated to the Fellowship for voting.

A special provision in the rules of the Academyenables election of outstanding persons who haverendered conspicuous service to the cause of scienceor whose election to the Academy would be of signalbenefit. This is exercised by the Council only in

exceptional cases. So far the Academy had the honourof electing Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, J.R.D.Tata and Satish Dhawan as Fellows in this category.

ACTIVITIESLocal Chapters: Besides the activities at itsheadquarters, the Academy functions in other partsof the country through its Local Chapters located innineteen cities. Fellows residing in the vicinity ofthese cities attend meetings of the Local Chapters.These Chapters provide financial assistance forarranging lectures by eminent scientists and fororganizing programmes of popularization of scienceand inculcation of scientific temper among thepublic. A few of the INSA Medal Lectures are alsodelivered at the Local Chapters.

Academy Awards and Lectures: Since 1950, theAcademy has been conferring medals and awards toeminent scientists in various disciplines. TheAcademy has instituted 54 medals and endowmentlectureship of different categories. On an average,around 20 awards are conferred every year. Therecipients of these various medals/lectureships areexpected to deliver lectures on subjects of their choice.

INSA Medal for Young Scientists: The INSAYoungScientists Award (instituted in 1974), considered tobe the highest recognition of promise, creativity andexcellence among young scientists, below the ageof 32 is made annually to those distinguished forthese attributes as evidenced by their research workcarried out in India. This was the first initiative inIndia to encourage promising young workers. Sofar, 401 young scientists have been recognized.Many of them have established a rewardingscientific career and are continuing to makeoutstanding contributions, receiving furtherrecognition in India and abroad.

Each awardee is considered for start-up researchsupport. Also, the awardee, within five years ofreceipt of award, is encouraged for a visit abroadwith full support for presenting a research paper in

Top: Professor Bruce Alberts, President, US National

Academy of Sciences delivered the 5th Jawaharlal

Nehru Birth Centenary Medal Lecture in January

2001.

Bottom: A young scientist recieving the INSA Medal

from the then President of the Academy.


an important conference, and/or for participating incollaborative/training research project. As part oftheir career development, those young scientists whohave been unable to obtain suitable employment,may be considered for an interim Fellowship.

Science and Society Interface: The Academy hastaken the responsibility of expressing its opinion onscientific issues concerning society at large and has,in the process, helped in the public understanding ofscience. Over the years, through discussions andanalyses, the Fellows of the Academy have expressedopinions on specific issues for the benefit of thescientific community, policy planners and society atlarge. Mention may be made of a few issues, such as:the Concern for Conserving the Silent Valley;Problems of Failure of Irrigation Structures, Damsand Strata under Reservoir; Higher Education inScience; Health of Science in India; Energy Optionsin India; Intellectual Property Rights in Biology;Emerging Communication Technology; Guidelinesfor Care and Use of Animals in Scientific Research;Compulsory Iodination of Salt to Prevent IodineDeficiency Disorders; and a report on TransgenicPlants and World Agriculture. A report on the lasttheme was prepared under the auspices of the RoyalSociety of London, the US National Academy ofSciences, the Indian National Science Academy, theBrazilian Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy

of Sciences, the Mexican Academy of Sciences andthe Third World Academy of Sciences.

The Academy organizes a series of popularlectures for the benefit of the public at Delhi and atother local chapters. These lectures are very popularamong school children who have opportunities forquestion-answer sessions. A major event is theNational Science Day held on February 28 every year,to commemorate the discovery of the Raman Effect.

CROSSING BARRIERS: INTERNATIONALCOLLABORATION AMONG SCIENTISTS

International Council for Science (ICSU): ICSU asbody representing worldÕs scientists has had achequered history. Through the efforts of scientistsin European countries an International Associationof Academies (IAA) was started in 1899. Itsobjectives were to initiate and promote scientificundertakings of common interest and to facilitatescientific interactions among the various countries.World War I interrupted IAA. A fresh beginning wasmade in 1918-19 to found the International ResearchCouncil (IRC) with membership open to a NationalResearch Council of any country of the world. In 1931the name of IRC was changed to InternationalCouncil for Scientific Unions (ICSU). After 68 yearsit was renamed International Council of Science butthe acronym ICSU was retained. The thenGovernment of India formally joined IRC and five ofits associated unions viz Geodesy and Geophysics ,Geography, Astronomy, Biological Sciences andRadio-Telegraphy in 1930. This programme waseventually transfered to INSA in 1968.

ICSU is a non-governmental organizationcomprising 20 international scientific unions, 66national members, 17 scientific and four nationalassociates. Since its creation in 1931, ICSU haspursued a policy of non-discrimination, affirmingthe rights of all scientists throughout the world --without regard to race, religion, political philosophy,ethnic origin, citizenship, sex or language -- toparticipate in international scientific activities.

The principal objective ICSUÕs is to encourage


Professor D.S. Kothari, Past-President of INSA,

distributing prizes to school children on the National

Science Day.


international scientific activity for the benefit ofhumankind. It is implemented through initiating,designing and coordinating international scientificresearch projects. The members of the ICSU familyorganize international conferences, congresses,symposia, summer schools and meetings of expertsin various parts of the world. General Assemblies andother meetings are also held to decide policies andprogrammes. Committees/Commissions of ICSU arecreated to organize studies in multi-disciplinary andtrans-disciplinary fields which are not completelycovered under the aegis of any one of the ScientificUnions, such as space and environment. The mainSecretariat of ICSU is located in Paris.

India through INSA adheres to ICSU and 18 ofits member unions and 10 interdisciplinary bodieslisted below:● International Astronomical Union (IAU),● International Union of Biochemistry and

Molecular Biology (IUBMB), ● International Union of Biological Sciences

(IUBS), ● International Union of Pure & Applied

Chemistry (IUPAC), ● International Union of Crystallography (IUCr), ● International Union of Geodesy & Geophysics

(IUGG), ● International Geographical Union (IGU), ● International Union of Geological Sciences

(IUGS),

● International Union of History & Philosophy ofScience (IUHPS),

● International Union of Theoretical & AppliedMechanics (IUTAM),

● International Mathematical Union (IMU), ● International Union of Microbiological Societies

(IUMS), ● International Union of Nutritional Sciences

(IUNS), ● International Union of Pure & Applied Physics

(IUPAP), ● International Union of Pure & Applied

Biophysics (IUPAB), ● International Union of Pharmacology

(IUPHAR), ● International Union of Radio Science (URSI), ● Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research

(SCOR), ● Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), ● Committee on Data for Science & Technology

(CODATA), ● Scientific Committee on Problems of the

Environment (SCOPE), ● Committee on Science & Technology in

Developing Countries (COSTED), ● Scientific Committee on Solar-Terrestrial Physics

(SCOSTEP), ● Scientific Committee on Lithosphere (SCL), ● World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), ● Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research

(SCAR), ● International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme

(IGBP). INSA constitutes National Committees for

various unions/interdisciplinary bodies and jointinitiatives in India. Each National Committeefunctions for a three-year tenure. The functions ofICSU National Committees are: exchange of ideasand communication of scientific information withrelated national and international bodies;development of standards in methodology,nomenclature and units; organizing internationalconferences/congresses /symposia /meetings of

Some members of INSA delegation visiting Chinese

Academy of Sciences in July 1986.

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experts and of General Assemblies in India;preparation of Country Status Reports in researchactivity in specific or related fields; and selection ofIndian scientists for participation in internationalconferences/congresses/symposia and GeneralAssemblies etc. especially sponsored by ICSU andits affiliated organizations.

Non-ICSU Conferences: There are a large numberof other international scientific conferences,symposia, workshops, etc. in the fields of medicine,engineering and applied sciences which areorganized each year outside the purview of ICSU.These conferences are termed Non-ICSUconferences. The Academy, provides partialfinancial assistance to scientists for attending someof the important conferences under this category.

The Committee on Science & Technology inDeveloping Countries (COSTED): COSTED wasset up as a special Scientific Comittee of ICSU at theGeneral Assembly held in Mumbai in 1966. In 1993,it was merged with International BiosciencesNetwork (IBN) which was a joint ICSU-UNESCOProgramme. The COSTED stimulates and facilitatesthe participation of scientists and scientificinstitutions of the developing countries in theactivities of International Science & Technology. Ithelps generate international projects andprogrammes to help capacity development ofdeveloping countries which addresses to problemsrelevant to their socio-economic and culturaldevelopment. INSA has partnership. The Academyhas close linkages with COSTED and also has aprogramme (jointly)with CSIR, DAE, ISRO andCOSTED. In providing financial assistance andsupport to young Indian research workers forparticipation in International Conferences abroad.

Inter-Academy Collaboration and ExchangeProgramme: In May 1967, an Indian delegationvisited the then Soviet Union to acquaint itself withresearch and other activities of the USSR Academy

and its institutes and to discuss scientific cooperationbetween the two nations. Both the Governmentsagreed to set up a joint committee which met in NewDelhi in 1968. INSA's President was nominated theChairman of the Indian Committee for Indo-SovietCollaboration. Ever since 1968, the Academy hasbeen successfully collaborating with scientificacademies/organizations abroad by sharingresearch experience and scientific information. Sucha relationship has been achieved through bilateralexchange of scientists, collaborative researchprojects, organization of symposia and meetings.

The Academy coordinates the exchangeprogrammes by facilitating contacts ofindividuals/scientific institutions in India withthose of various foreign collaborating countries.Currently, the Academy has signed 19 BilateralAgreements/Memoranda of Understanding withthe organizations listed below: ● Royal Society, London (1972); ● Japan Society for the Promotion of Science,

Tokyo (1976); ● Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest

(1980); ● French Academy of Sciences, Paris (1983); ● Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw (1983); ● National Academy of Science and Technology of

the Philippines, Manila (1983); ● Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts & Sciences,

Amsterdam; ● Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Germany

(1987); ● Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing (1988); ● Royal Nepal Academy of Science & Technology,

Kathmandu (1989); ● Korea Science and Engineering Foundation,

Seoul (1989); ● Academy of Science of the Czech Republic,

Prague (1993); ● Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava (1993); ● Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Kiev (1993); ● Academia Brazileira de Ciencias, Brazil (1996); ● National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrghyz


Republic (1996); ● Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow (1996); ● Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts,

Slovenia (1998); and ● Slovenian Science Foundation, Slovenia (1998).

With the last three named academies,collaborative programmes on identified areas havealso been taken up. The Academy has also signedAgreements/Memoranda of Understanding (MoU)with 13 other Academies/organizations forexchange of scientific information, participation ofscientists in conferences/ symposia, etc. These are: ● Australian Academy of Sciences, Canberra; ● National Centre for the Scientific Research,

Vietnam; ● Academia Nacional De Ciencias Exactas, Fisicas

Y Naturales, Argentina; ● Royal Society of Canada; ● Israel Academy of Sciences & Humanities; ● Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; ● Academia De Ciencias De Cuba; ● US National Academy of Sciences, Washington; ● State Academy of the DPR Korea, Pyongyang; ● Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk; ● Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences, Tashkent;

● Korean Academy of Science and Technology,Seoul;

● Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences andHumanities, Berlin.

Under international collaboration and exchangeprogramme, visits of scientists have been exchangedunder two categories -- short term visits of 2 to 8weeks and long term/Fellowship visits up to 6months. Generally, the senior scientists undertakevisits abroad for short duration for discussion andinteraction with scientists in different institutions andthe younger scientists normally engage themselvesin longer duration for collaborative research/training,preferably in one institute/laboratory.

Interaction with International Foundation forScience: The International Foundation for Science(IFS) was started in 1972 in Sweden as a non-Governmental body consisting of around 95scientific academies, research councils andorganizations as its members. The Academy is themember organization in India for the IFS. Underthis programme, IFS provides research grants toyoung scientists from developing countries toenhance their capabilities to carry out research inagriculture, biological sciences and chemistry ofnatural resources. Over the years, some of theleading INSA Fellows have served on the IFS Boardof Trustees. A large number of young Indianscientists have benefitted from this programme.

Federation of Asian ScientificAcademies and Societies (FASAS): TheFASAS was born in 1984 in New Delhi.The Academy is a Founder MemberOrganization of the FASAS in India andhas been sponsoring its activities for thepromotion of Science and Technology inthe Asian region. The Federationincludes 14 scientific Academies/Societies of the Asian region, namelyAfghanistan, Australia, Pakistan, Nepal,New Zealand, Bangladesh, China, India,

The then President of INSA at the ceremony of signing

on the agreement on scientific cooperation with the

Vice-Chancellor of the Royal Nepal Academy of

Science and Technology (RONAST) in 1989.


Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Korea, Philippines, Singaporeand Thailand, as its national members. TheFederation fosters co-operation and promotesnational and regional self-reliance by sharingexperiences in the field of science and technology andin promoting beneficial use of science for society.

Linkages with TWAS and TWNSO: The ThirdWorld Academy of Sciences (TWAS) is a non-Governmental body founded in 1983 by a group ofeminent scientists from the South under theleadership of Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam ofPakistan to promote South-South and South-NorthCooperation in the development and application ofS&T in the third world. The Academy has closelinkages with the TWAS and Third World Networkof Scientific Organizations (TWNSO) ever since theirinception. In fact, the largest number of Fellows ofTWAS are from India and they are actively involvedin various programmes, committees and otheractivities for the realization of the objectives of TWASand TWNSO. C.N.R. Rao, an eminent Indian chemistand a Past-President of INSA is the present Presidentof TWAS. The Academy is also represented in theTWNSO Council. TWNSO aims to promoteintegration of S&T aspects of the nationaldevelopment plans of the third world countries andto establish collaborative studies programmes inareas of critical importance.

The Academy has been extending facilities toyounger scientists from Asian countries for attendingtraining programmes in Indian institutions for 6months or more in relevant fields under FASAS andTWAS Programmes. International travel is providedby TWAS or the member organization in thesponsoring country and living expenses are borneby the Academy through the Technical Cooperationamong Developing Countries (TCDC) supported bythe DST, New Delhi.

The INSA-Royal Society Lecture Series: TheIndian National Science Academy and the RoyalSociety jointly hold one memorial lecture every

year, alternately in India and the United Kingdom.The British scientists are invited to deliver theBlackett Memorial Lecture in India, whereas theIndian scientists dive the Sir J.C.Bose MemorialLecture in UK.

The Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary VisitingFellowship: In 1989, the Academy instituted theJawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary visitingFellowship to commemorate NehruÕs commitmentand sustained support to science. This fellowshipenables the Academy to project the achievementsof Indian science & technology abroad. Onefellowship is awarded annually to a distinguishedIndian Scientist for delivering a series of lecturesabroad and it is not restricted to countries withwhich the Academy has exchange programme.

INSA-JRD Tata Fellowship: The Academy, jointlywith the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, has instituted theINSA-JRD Tata Fellowship to encourage scientistsand technologists from other developing countriesto pursue research in Indian scientific researchinstitutions. About 20 Fellowships are likely to beprovided annually. The Fellowship will cover to-and-fro airfare, boarding and lodging at theaffiliated institution/s and an allowance to coverincidental expenses.

INSA-KK Birla Foundation Asia Science Lectures:INSA in association with the KK Birla Foundationhas jointly instituted an ÔINSA-KK Birla FoundationAsia Science LectureÕ to promote understanding,interaction and a co-opertive spirit in the Asianregion by recognizing eminent scientists/personswho have established themselves as leaders inscience and technology or an entrepreneur/scholarwho has contributed significantly to areas like S&T,education, health, economy, leading to thedevelopment of the Asian Region.

Inter-Academy Panel on International Issues:Presidents of 10 academies of science (including


INSA), on the invitation of the Royal Society,London and U.S. National Academy of Sciences,met in 1992 to discuss the possibility of organizinga meeting of science academies to develop aconsensus statement on Population andDevelopment. The President of INSA extended theinvitation to hold such a meeting in New Delhi. Thisresulted in Population Summit held in New Delhi inOctober, 1993. This was the first meeting of over 50science academies from all parts of the world todiscuss an issue of global concern. A consensusstatement on the subject was finalized at theÔSummitÕ and was later presented to the UNConference on Population and Development held atCairo in 1994, by the Past President of INSA onbehalf of the World Academies.

The Inter-Academy Panel (IAP) onInternational Issues was constituted at INSAin 1995,as a follow-up of the ÔPopulation SummitÕ. Sixtyparticipating Science Academies unanimouslyrecommended the creation of a joint forum formutual consultation and, where necessary, jointaction on S&T issues of global concern. The Panelalso participated in the UN Conference on HumanSettlements (Habitat II) held in Istanbul, Turkey andalso issued a statement on S&T and Future of MegaCities endorsed by 72 academies of the world. Morerecently, an International Conference was organizedin May, 2000 on A Transition to Sustainability in the21st Century at Tokyo, Japan. P.N. Tandon, Past-President of INSA and F. Sherwood Rowland,Foreign Secretary, USNAS are the co-chair of theSteering Committee of IAP.

Inter-Academy Council (IAC): Over the years it hasbeen felt that there is an urgent need for the globalscientific community to develop an effectivemechanism for delivering timely advice that canutilize the best scientific expertise, while maintaininga character so clearly global that it cannot bedismissed as reflecting the interest of any one nationor a particular block of nations. The Inter-AcademyCouncil (IAC) was therefore created after the Tokyo

Conference (May, 2000) as a formal arm of IAP, as alegal entity to provide scientific advice tointernational organizations on request. The Councilconsists of 15 Presidents of IAP memberacademies/organizations. G.Mehta, President INSA,and Bruce Alberts, President USNAS, are co-chairsof IAC. The members of IAC are from Brazil, China,France, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, Malaysia,Mexico, South Africa, Sweden, U.K., USA and TWAS.The President of ICSU and President of the RoyalNetherland Academy (the host academy) will be ex-officio members. The IAC Secretariat is based in theNetherlands. Impressed by the success of thisventure, it was unanimously decided to establish aninformal body to continue such interactions,especially for those issues of global concern wherescience and technology could play an important role.

BASIC SCIENCEScientific Research & Training: Basic research, aprerequisite for applied research leading todevelopmental activity, conducted by academicinstitutions was supported by the Academy in thepast. The Academy offered adequate support toresearch programmes of individual scientists andto interdisciplinary, multi-institutional programmes.In fact, as early as 1946, it instituted the Junior andSenior Research Fellowships which continued up

Population Summit


Phot

o: P

.N.

Tand

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to 1970. Apart from its own resources, grants-in-aidfrom CSIR and ICI were placed at the disposal ofINSA for funding these Fellowships.This was thefirst attempt in India to encourage researchendeavour in youth. This was followed later byother bodies. With the emergence of major fundingagencies in the country, the Academy modified itsprogramme to support individual scientists anddiverted its funds to create five positions of INSAResearch Professors, support to retired scientists(Fellows of the Academy only), research projects ofINSA Young Scientist Medal Awardees and INSAVisiting Fellowship.

The Academy also provides partial financialassistance for holding/organizing international/national conferences, symposia and seminars in India.

INSA Research Professorship: The Academyinstituted five research professorships from 1984onwards, each to be awarded to an outstandingscientist and enable him/her to continue tocontribute to the subject of specialization. Theseprestigious professorships are named after AlbertEinstein, Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, SrinivasaRamanujan and Satyendra Nath Bose. Besides, oneis entitled Golden Jubilee Research Professorship.Each professorship is tenable for five years. Apartfrom regular emoluments and contingency grant,there is also provision for an appointment of aResearch Associate to assist the research professor.

INSA Honorary Scientists Scheme: After tryingout a programme of INSA senior scientists (grantedto retired Fellows) the Academy has launched theINSA Honorary Scientist Scheme in the year 2000to utilize the services of Fellows who have formallyretired from service but are actively carrying outresearch in their specialized disciplines and/or arewilling to write monographs on topics ofimportance. The term of an INSA HonoraryScientist is tenable initially for a period of threeyears and can be extended depending on the planof work and output. The award carries no

honorarium but provides a contingency grant.INSA Visiting Fellowship: To enable a scientist toconduct advanced collaborative research or receivespecialized training in Indian researchinstitutes/laboratories, or to utilize facilities notavailable in their own institutions, the Academy hasinstituted this scheme since 1991. The Fellowshipenables a scientist to carry out independent orcollaborative work for one to six months in aresearch institution located in an Indian city otherthan his/her own.

Support to National/International Conferences:The Academy provides partial financial assistancefor holding national/international conferences/symposia/ summer/winter schools in India. It alsooffers token funds for arranging General Assembliesand other ICSU-sponsored international conferencesin India or other events recommended by nationalcommittees of the various scientific unions of ICSU.

HISTORY OF SCIENCE IN INDIA

Recognizing the value of carrying out research onthe evolution of science in the growth of Indian

civilization and documenting it authentically for pos-terity, the project of compiling a History of Science inIndia was started at the Asiatic Society, Kolkata in1960, under the supervision of the History of ScienceBoard with A.C. Ukil, Past President of the Academy,as Chairman. This programme was sponsored by thethen National Institute of Sciences of India (presentlyINSA). Later on, in order to enlarge the scope of theHistory of Science Board, an Academy delegationheaded by H.J. Bhabha, met the then EducationMinister M.C. Chagla which resulted in the foundingof the National Commission for the compilation ofthe History of Science in India in the year 1965. TheNational Institute started getting an annual grantfrom Government of India to be disbursed by theNational Commission for the work. The name of theNational Commission was changes to IndianNational Commission for History of Science in 1989.

The CommissionÕs activities cover three


somewhat overlapping periods: Ancient Period till1200 A.D., Medieval period from 1200 A.D.-1800A.D. and Modern period from 1801 A.D. onwards.

The functions of the Commission are:● Collection and documentation of source

material.● Critical evaluation and translation of relevant

ancient manuscripts of science.● Organization of seminars and workshops, and● Publication of the Indian Journal of History of

Science, the only journal of its kind in India,started 30 years ago.

Importantly the Academy supports researchprojects in various areas of history of science andtechnology by experts, after a critical peer review.

The Commission has brought out over 30 majorpublications including monographs. Besides thevolume, A Concise History of Science in India, the listincludes History of Astronomy in India, History of Medicinein India, History of Technology in India (three volumes)and History of Metallurgy in India. Among the earlierpublications which have received much appreciationin the scientific world, mention may be made of CarakaSam. hita- (a scientific synopsis, 1960); SusÕruta Sam. hita-

(as scientific synopsis, 1980); The Sulbha Su-tras ofBaudhayana, Apastamba, Katyayana and Manavawith text, English translation and commentary (1983);Aryabhatia of A

-ryabhat.a, text with English translation

(1976); Rasa Ratna Samuccaya by Vagbhata edited withEnglish translation, notes and appendixes in two parts(1991-92) and Jahangir, the Naturalist (1969).

INFORMATION AND REFERENCE

The INSA Library and the Computer Centre arethe two main wings of the Informatics Centre.

The library primarily serves the needs of the Fellows,other scientists/scholars and enrolled members. Itrenders reference service whenever required andextends facilities for consultation. Presently, itreceives more than 800 scientific and technical jour-nals and has a collection of 17,987 books related toScience and Technology, History and Philosophy ofScience, Science Education, Management and

Science Policy. The Library is also procuring books inHindi pertaining to S&T area. The library is plan-ning to compile a complete set of publications ofeach Fellow of the Academy. Besides the regularactivities of the library, the Informatics Centre ren-ders the following services to its users:● Citation Analysis: Informatics Centre provides

citation analysis against request to the Fellowshipbased on CD-ROM database of Science CitationIndex from 1980 till date. This service is becomingpopular among the scientific community.

● Science Information Notes: A collection of articles,SIN, is brought out on issues of topical interest,covering the latest developments in S&T,Environment, Development Policy, and manyother related areas. A special Hindi issue of SINis published in January every year.

● Current Awareness Service: Since 1986, Fellows arebeing supplied with contents pages of selectedjournals of their choice from the journalsreceived in the library. Subsequently full articlesare supplied on request. This service has alsobeen extended to INSA Young Scientists andInstitutional Members.

● Additional Contents Page Service: Recently anAdditional Contents Page Service has beenstarted for the INSA Fellows. Under this service,content pages of 240 journals in variousdisciplines of S&T, not available in INSA library,are sent to Fellows according to their choice.Copies of these articles can be obtained eitherfrom Indian National Scientific DocumentationCentre or any other source by the Fellowshipdirectly.

● Bibliographic Services: Using electronic resources,bibliographies on specific topics are beingcompiled and supplied.

● IT-based Information Services: Internet based dataservices and E-mail requirements are availableon a limited scale.

● Electronic Resources: Acquisition of resources onCDÕs has been initiated and a few sources havebeen aquired on CDÕs. Efforts are being made to


procure more secondary sources in electronicformat. Further, the records of INSA Fellows arealso being digitised and made available on CDÕs.

PUBLICATIONS

An important activity of the Academy is to publishProceedings, Journals, Memoirs, Year Book, etc.

The first issue of the Transactions of the NationalInstitute of Sciences of India came out in 1935. Threevolumes, consisting 26 numbers were published. Afterthe first issue of the fourth volume, the Transactionswere discontinued and a new series of monographswas started, to enable scientists to publish theirresearch work. In 1936, the NISI brought out IndianScience Abstracts, containing an annotated bibliogra-phy of all scientific papers published in India. Fourvolumes - each in two parts - appeared in 1937 and in1938, and one in 1939. Thereafter this publication wasdiscontinued. The first monograph came out in 1960.

The first issue of the Proceedings containing thehistory of the foundation of National Institute ofSciences of India, its aims and objectives, provisionalrules, proceedings of the inaugural meeting andinaugural addresses was published in 1935.Proceedings was a bimonthly until 1954, theincorporated articles in both Physical and BiologicalSciences. From 1955 onwards, the Proceedings arebeing published in two series - Part A for PhysicalSciences, and Part B for Biological Sciences - inalternate months. From 1998 onwards theProceedings has been appearing under two seriesPINSA Ð A and PINSA Ð B. The emphasis has shiftedfrom being vehicles of original research reports butonly contain reviews, tracts of contemporaryscientific interest as well as to publish primarycomprehensive summary reports on specific topics.Indian Journal of Pure & Applied Mathematics startedJanuary 1970 as a quarterly journal, is now beingpublished every month.

One of the unique publications of the Academyis the Indian Journal of History of Science. This is aquarterly journal devoted to studies in various fieldsof ancient, medieval and modern science in

historical perspective, and offer an interesting forumfor scientists, historians, social scientists,philosophers educationists, to gain an insight intothe evolution of scientific concepts andtechnological developments.

From time to time the Academy publishesStatus Reports on various scientific disciplines,Proceedings of important multidisciplinaryseminars, and special monographs. INSA has alsopublished Biographical Notes on Fellows of theAcademy 1935-93 (two volumes), Profiles in ScientificResearch: Contributions of the Fellows (five volumes),Compilation of the Award Lectures (four volumes) andPresidential Addresses.

The Biographical Memoirs brought out eachyear serve as authentic records for posterity, of thelives and works of deceased Fellows. Twenty twovolumes of the Memoirs have been published so far.

The INSA Year Book is a useful document. From1960, it has been brought out every year in January,at the time of the Anniversary General Meeting ofthe Academy. The Year Book lists the activities ofvarious units of the Academy, details of theFellowship - both Indian and foreign, compositionof the various committees, Rules and Regulations,the calendar of events and other activities of theAcademy. INSA News, the in-house journal of theAcademy is published bimonthly. It highlights theactivities of the Academy and its local chapters andachievements of its Fellowship.


The President of India, Dr. K.R. Narayanan, visiting

the Academy premises.

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INDIAN NATIONAL SCIENCE ACADEMY - Indian Institute of Science