BENGALURU:

on Monday said Indian culture is not that of meritocracy, honesty or competitive spirit. He was speaking about the sorry state of fundamental research in the country.

Answering a specific question on how India is failing to retain some bright minds because of delays in grants and a non-conducive research environment, he told TOI that those countries that have made progress have a certain type of culture and those that are laggards have a different kind of culture.

"Honesty, meritocracy, national pride, speed, competitive spirit are all characteristics of nations that have made progress. But those that have a culture of apathy, dishonesty, plagiarism, cut-and-paste, indifference, are characteristics of a society that has not made progress. It will take at least 1,000 to 3,000 years for this culture to change, because change isn't easy. And this culture has been part of India for the last 2,000 to 3,000 years," he said.

"...So, if you find that it takes a long time for (grant) proposals to go to the government, that is because it's a part of our culture. If you see fellows coming to (govt) office, not doing any work, not looking at any proposal, and drinking tea and coffee, that's part of our culture," he said, adding that changing this to that of honesty, meritocracy, national pride etc., is a long-drawn journey.

‘Education system must change’

Reiterating that the Indian education system must change if the nation wants to improve fundamental research and create top scientists and engineers, he said the basic flaw in the system is that we don't help our students use what they learn in the classroom to solve real-life problems.