Earth sciences can be Bharat Mata mantralaya: Harsh Vardhan
Vishwa Mohan | TNN | Jan 16, 2019, 01:11 IST
Union science and technology minister Harsh Vardhan (PTI photo)NEW DELHI: Union science and technology minister Harsh Vardhan would not mind renaming the ministry of earth sciences (prithvi vigyan mantralaya) "Bharat Mata mantralaya".
Taking a cue from one of the presenters at a function to mark the 144th foundation day of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) here on Tuesday, Vardhan - who is the minister for earth sciences as well - said if the MoES secretary (M Rajeevan) agreed, there would be no harm ("koi burai nahin hai") in calling the ministry "Bharat Mata mantralaya".
"Isme koi sochne ki baat nahin hai... koi pretension karne ki bhi baat nahin hai (There is no need to think about it... there is no need for pretension)," said the minister after one of the presenters said "Bharat Mata mantralaya" in her introductory remarks at the function.
Vardhan argued that the ministry and its scientists, after all, work for the protection of earth, which is indeed "Bharat Mata" for "all of us". The minister, in fact, even used "Bharat Mata mantralaya" while referring to the ministry during his remaining speech at the function, which was attended by many scientists.
Union Minister Harsh Vardhan's remarks came while he was speaking about his ministry's move to popularise science through two initiatives, DD Science and India Science, launched in association with public broadcaster Doordarshan.
DD Science is a one-hour slot on Doordarshan National channel, which will be telecast on Monday to Saturday from 5pm to 6pm. India Science, on the other hand, is an internet-based 24x7 channel, which is available on any internetenabled device, and will offer live, scheduled play and video-on-demand services.
The minister said all activities of both these communication initiatives, aimed at popularising science and taking information on its benefits to people, would be operated from MoES headquarters. IMD, which is the national weather forecaster of India, comes under MoES.
On the occasion, M Rajeevan said though IMD has one of the best weather forecast systems in the world, its outreach (dissemination of info system) is still "very,bad".
Taking a cue from one of the presenters at a function to mark the 144th foundation day of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) here on Tuesday, Vardhan - who is the minister for earth sciences as well - said if the MoES secretary (M Rajeevan) agreed, there would be no harm ("koi burai nahin hai") in calling the ministry "Bharat Mata mantralaya".
"Isme koi sochne ki baat nahin hai... koi pretension karne ki bhi baat nahin hai (There is no need to think about it... there is no need for pretension)," said the minister after one of the presenters said "Bharat Mata mantralaya" in her introductory remarks at the function.
Vardhan argued that the ministry and its scientists, after all, work for the protection of earth, which is indeed "Bharat Mata" for "all of us". The minister, in fact, even used "Bharat Mata mantralaya" while referring to the ministry during his remaining speech at the function, which was attended by many scientists.
Union Minister Harsh Vardhan's remarks came while he was speaking about his ministry's move to popularise science through two initiatives, DD Science and India Science, launched in association with public broadcaster Doordarshan.
DD Science is a one-hour slot on Doordarshan National channel, which will be telecast on Monday to Saturday from 5pm to 6pm. India Science, on the other hand, is an internet-based 24x7 channel, which is available on any internetenabled device, and will offer live, scheduled play and video-on-demand services.
The minister said all activities of both these communication initiatives, aimed at popularising science and taking information on its benefits to people, would be operated from MoES headquarters. IMD, which is the national weather forecaster of India, comes under MoES.
On the occasion, M Rajeevan said though IMD has one of the best weather forecast systems in the world, its outreach (dissemination of info system) is still "very,bad".
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