Saying that the IITs had a high brand equity, he urged the students of the IIT-G to serve the country through their unique talents. Approving the idea of students going abroad to learn about new technologies, he said that they must at a point of time return to their motherland and serve their fellow countrymen. “Transforming India into a developed nation is far more important than making another country sustain its developed status.

Referring to an increasingly competitive global environment, he said, India must worry about Intellectual Property Rights if it has to derive advantages in the technological and scientific fields, and added that the competitive nature of today’s world demanded that scientific and technological advances were recognized in the right forum.

Identifying the patterns and priorities of India’s Research and Development activities, the eminent scientist, who was also the head of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre said that basic research, mission-oriented applied research, country-specific applied research and industry-oriented research must all be conducted with adequate interface among all of them.

“Successful technological development must be backed by wide ranging research and development efforts and a robust innovation ecosystem,” he observed. He alluded to several instances in which advanced research was generating benefits for developmental activities.

On the advances made in the area of nuclear science, he said that India has already developed a three-stage nuclear programme, has a credible minimum nuclear deterrent, as well as spin-offs in the area of agriculture and biotechnology. Similar was the case with space research that was contributing in several spheres like remote sensing, weather forecasting and telecommunication.

On the emergence of new frontiers in the area of science and technology, he remarked that great potential lay in the interfaces between physics and biology. Such interfaces must be explored if India is to emerge as innovation leader.

Earlier, in his inaugural address, the Director of IIT-G, Gautam Baruah appreciated the efforts of the students of the institution who have organised the event. He urged the students to think of extending the ambit of the programmes in Techniche so that participants could come up with well-researched projects.