Nobel laureate calls for IPR protection

• Science is observing, questioning and experimenting
• The scientist says India is obsessed with Nobel Prize
• Genetically modified crop is a threat, but it should not be avoided

Hyderabad: Nobel Laureate Dr Venkatraman Ramakrishnan on Saturday strongly felt that new alternatives with regard to intellectual property rights (IPR) have to be found out by nations and right-thinking people. He was addressing a gathering of science teachers, professors and students of science, human life and societal issues at an event organised by Jana Vignana Vedika at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram.

Responding to a question by Prof K Nageswar on what needs to be done when the wealthy nations take away the fruits of research findings in the name of Intellectual Property Regime, he said, "We can look at the problem in two ways. Firstly, no company would like to invest on a research product if it does not have right over it. Secondly and most importantly, there are products which should be placed above the IPR. Take for example the discovery of a drug which can be useful for millions of people. There cannot be sanctions when it comes to the issue of human life. So, I believe this problem can well be addressed by finding alternatives to this issue by nations, non-profit organisations (NPOs) the world over”.

“Everybody is a born scientist. As one grows older, she/he keeps losing that curiosity and one starts taking the world for granted and stops asking questions. Those who continue asking questions go on to become scientists, the Nobel Laureate felt. He did not concur with majority views in India on giving high importance to the Nobel Prize.

India was all obsessed with the Nobel Prize. I have not seen it anywhere else in the world. If you are going to tell your children to work towards getting a Nobel Prize in life, then that is the end of your child's scientific journey," Dr Venkatraman said.

He said that science was simply about the world around us, observing that world, asking questions and experimenting. As science was based on observation, he said that it made it rational, which had an ability to eradicate superstitions, which according to him, were dangerous. He felt that superstitions prevented a person from taking a rational approach.

Answering a question from a BSc student of Osmania University about the pros and cons of genetically modified crops, he accepted the serious concerns genetically modified crops could pose to ecology. However, he also observed that the solution was not to avoid it, but to try and develop well-tested genetically modified crops without depending on the western countries for their supply.

Birla Awards presented

Earlier, Dr Venkatraman presented the annual BM Birla Science Awards to Dr Ganesh Nagaraju of IISc, Bangalore and Dr Vikas Kumar Dubey of IIT, Guwahati in Biology; Dr G Vaitheeswaran of University of Hyderabad and Dr Banibrata Mukhopadhyaya of IISc for Physics. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 50,000 and a citation.