Kalam just a delegate at this Science Congress

This is the first time that the President, deviating from tradition and protocol, will be attending a function that the Prime Minister has already inaugurated. What shot Kalam into fame—science, that too space science—is what bring him here on Saturday.

He will participate in the day-long ‘Space Summit’ where Dr K Kasturirangan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Congress’s general president, will unveil a 25-year Space Vision.

Scientists from 11 countries, including France, Russia and the United States, will discuss the latest in space science. Kalam will also have an interactive session with his former colleagues and a customary presidential talk with children on Saturday afternoon.

At least 5,200 scientists, including 80 delegates from abroad, have banded together at the Bangalore University for the five-day event, which is hosted by the University along with ISRO. They hope to see the Prime Minister unveil the Science and Technology Policy which has been in the making for the past two years.

The policy is likely to address the decline of interest in science education and ‘‘address the issue of the missing generation of scientists’’; double the funding for science which stands today at about 1 % of GDP and demand that the private sector inject more money into research and development.

The next five days will all about blue skies research and the newest in technologies. ‘‘The highlights of the Congress will be plenary sessions on frontier technologies for sustainable energy development, emerging technologies in biosciences and genome research, nanosciences and advanced materials, information science and technologies for a knowledge society, food, nutritional and environment security challenges for 21st century and future trends in medicine and immunisation,’’ Kasturirangan told reporters.

Additional sessions on urban transport, climate systems and scientific pursuit in India will be chaired by Central Road Research Institute director P.K. Sikkar, aerospace man Roddam Narasimha and nuclear science guru Raja Ramanna respectively.

The list of persons who chair these sessions reads like a Who’s Who of Indian science: Banglaore-based C.N.R. Rao and Infosys Chief Mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy will chair the sessions on advanced materials and IT respectively.

Agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan, Indian Council of Medical Research Director-General N.K. Ganguli and Biotech Secretary Manju Sharma are among those who will chair the other plenary sessions. Unfortunately for the 5,000-odd students who are likely to visit the venue each day, no Nobel laureate will grace the Congress.