| Indian Science Congress Association | |
| Abbreviation: | ISCA |
| Type: | Professional organisation |
| Founder: | J. L. Simonsen P. S. MacMahon |
| Location: | Kolkata, India |
| Area Served: | India, Worldwide |
| Key People: | General President: Arvind Kumar Saxena General Secretary: Kumar Verma |
| Membership: | 30,000 |
Indian Science Congress Association[1] (ISCA) is a premier scientific organisation of India with headquarters at Kolkata, West Bengal. The association started in the year 1914 in Calcutta and it meets annually in the first week of January. It has a membership of more than 30,000 scientists.
The first Indian Science Congress was held in 1914 at the Asiatic Society in Calcutta.[2] After attracting various speech-related controversies in recent years, the association established a policy that requires speakers at future conferences to be vetted and scrutinizes the content of their talks.
Several prominent Indian and foreign scientists, including Nobel laureates, attend and speak in the congress.
The Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) owes its origin to the foresight and initiative of two British chemists, namely, Professor J. L. Simonsen and Professor P. S. MacMahon. It occurred to them that scientific research in India might be stimulated if an annual meeting of research workers somewhat on the lines of the British Association for the Advancement of Science could be arranged.
The Association was formed with the following objectives :
The first meeting of the congress was held from 15 to 17 January 1914 at the premises of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta. Ashutosh Mukherjee, the then Vice Chancellor of the University of Calcutta presided over the Congress. One hundred and five scientists from different parts of India and abroad attended it. Altogether 35 papers under 6 different sections, namely Botany, Chemistry, Ethnography, Geology, Physics and Zoology were presented.
The Silver Jubilee Session of the Science Congress was held at Calcutta in 1938 under the presidency of Ernest Rutherford but due to his sudden death, James Jeans took the chair. It was at this Jubilee Session that the participation of foreign scientists in session of the Indian Science Congress was first initiated.
The 34th Annual Session of the Indian Science Congress was held at Delhi in 3–8 January 1947 with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as General president. Nehru's personal interest in the Science Congress continued and there was hardly any session which he did not attend. He immensely enriched the activities of the Congress by his sustained interest in the development of scientific atmosphere in the country, particularly among young generations. From 1947, his programme for inviting representatives from foreign societies and academies was included in the Science Congress. This trend still continues with the support of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India.
The Science Congress celebrated its Golden Jubilee in October 1963 at Delhi with Daulat Singh Kothari as General president. On this occasion two special publications were brought out:
The Diamond Jubilee Session of the Science Congress was held at Chandigarh in 3–9 January 1973, under the presidency of S. Bhagavantam. On this occasion two special publications were brought out:
The year 1976 witnessed a significant departure in the trend of deliberations during the congress. It was being felt for sometime that such a gathering of scientists, covering a wide spectrum, ought to be concerned with national issues that have scientific and technological implications. In 1976, Dr. M. S. Swaminathan, the then General President of ISCA introduced the Focal Theme of national relevance which is now discussed in every section, committee and forum during the annual session. These apart, several plenary sessions are organised around various facets of the Focal Theme in which scientists and technologists as well as policy makers and administrators interact with one another. ISCA thus became a platform where members from different disciplines and from different walks of life could contribute to discussions on the Focal Theme.
Another significant breakthrough was made in 1980 when the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, set up a permanent Task Force involving representatives of ISCA and chiefs of different agencies and voluntary organizations chaired by Secretary, DST, as being responsible for following up various recommendations on the Focal Theme. Every year follow-up actions on recommendations made in the previous Science Congress are discussed at a General Session organized by DST during the Science Congress. Through this process, the Indian Science Congress Association has been contributing to the development of Science in general and National Science Policy, in particular.
The Indian Science Congress Association celebrated the seventy-fifth year of its inception, popularly called otherwise, Platinum Jubilee, in 1988, with C. N. R. Rao as General president. Keeping this in view, a special brochure, entitled "Indian Science Congress Association-Growth & Activities" was published so as to highlight the programmes of the Association over the years. The main programmes were:
The five-day-long session, from 3 to 7 January 2011, at the Campus of SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 3 January 2011. The focal theme of this session was: "Quality education and excellence in scientific research in Indian universities". The prime minister said: "The Indian scientific community must apply its research findings and translate them into marketable products for the country to realize the true benefits of scientific progress. At the same time, he cautioned on "illiberal" uses of technology and cited use of nuclear weapons, applications of synthetic chemistry in agriculture and in poison gases and "perverse use" of genetics in Nazi Germany to drive home his point.
Nobel laureates Amartya Sen, Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Ada Yonath, Thomas A. Steitz, Tim Hunt and Martin Chalfie delivered special lectures at the congress. Venkata Ramakrishnan inaugurated the parallel Children's Science Congress on Tuesday, 4 January 2011.[3]
The five-day, 99th edition of the ISCA, from 3 to 7 January 2012 was hosted by KIIT University and National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) in Bhubaneswar, Orissa. It saw the participation of more than 15,000 delegates, which included 500 foreign scientists and 20 Nobel laureates. It was inaugurated by the incumbent Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh. On its sidelines, the first Women's Science Congress was inaugurated by Nirupama Rao, India's ambassador to United States of America and the Children's Science Congress was inaugurated by the former President of India, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.
The 100th edition was hosted by the University of Calcutta which is in the city of Kolkata from 3 to 7 January 2013. The theme of the Centenary Congress was, "Science for shaping the future of India".[4] It was inaugurated by the former President of India Pranab Mukherjee in the presence of the former Prime Minister of India Dr.Manmohan Singh and the incumbent Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee.
The 101st edition of Indian Science Congress was held in Jammu starting from 3 February 2014 to 8 February.[5]
See also: 2015 Indian Science Congress ancient aircraft controversy. The 102nd edition of Indian Science Congress was held in Mumbai from 3 January 2015 to 7 January 2015.[6] It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mumbai University.[7] Studies and papers on Ancient Indian Vedas were presented in this Congress.[8] [9] [10] [11] [12] Accomplishments of Ancient Indian Science in the fields of medicine, mathematics, surgery etc. were presented.[13] [14] There was also a session on India's successful Mars Orbiter Mission.[15]
The 106th edition of Indian Science Congress was held in Punjab from 3–7 January 2019. It was inaugurated by Narendra Modi and hosted around 30,000 scientists, including six Nobel laureates.[16] It became known for controversial talks purporting, among other claims, that Newton's and Einstein's theories of gravity were wrong, and that gravitational waves should be renamed to "Narendra Modi waves";[17] that the demon-king Ravana had 24 types of aircraft and a network of airports in modern-day Sri Lanka; that ancient Indians knew of in vitro fertilization; that Brahma invented dinosaurs;[18] and that Lord Vishnu had heat-seeking missiles.[19]
Kamala Thiagarajan alleged that under the Bharatiya Janata Party, several scientists took part to push the views and ideals of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a right-wing Hindu nationalist organization, into the mainstream.[18] After the 106th Congress and several similar incidents over the previous few years,[17] the Indian Science Congress established a policy that requires speakers at future conferences to be vetted and scrutinizes the content of their talks.[17] [19]
From a modest beginning of only hundred and five members, ISCA has grown into a strong fraternity with more than ten thousand members as of 2012. Only thirty-five papers were presented at the first Congress, a number that has risen to nearly one thousand.
In 2000, there were sixteen sections: Agricultural Science; Anthropology & Archaeology; Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology; Botany; Chemistry; Computer science; Earth system science; Engineering science; Material science; Mathematics; Medical & Veterinary sciences; Physics; Physiology; Psychology & Educational Science; Statistics; and Zoology, Entomology & Fisheries. There were also two committees: Home science and Science & Society. Finally, there were also six forums: Communication & Information sciences; Environmental science; Forensic science; Science education; Science for school students; and Women & science.
There are now fourteen sections, including Agriculture and Forestry sciences; Animal, Veterinary and Fishery sciences; Anthropological and Behavioral sciences (including Archaeology and Psychology & Educational sciences); Chemical science; Earth system science; Engineering science; Environmental science; Information and Communication science & technology (including Computer science); Material science; Mathematical science (including Statistics); Medical science (including Physiology); New Biology (including Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology; and Biotechnology); Physical science; and Plant science.
After independence ISCA has been actively represented in various foreign scientific academies/associations, namely British Association for the Advancement of Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, French Academy of Sciences, Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science, etc. with a view to have a first hand knowledge on topics of mutual interest.
Corruption in India is a major problem and the science sector is no exception.[20] [21] ISCA has served as a platform to discuss the issues facing Indian scientists, with some calling for transparency, a meritocratic system, and an overhaul of the bureaucratic agencies that oversee science and technology.[22] In her commentary on the centenary session of ISCA, Sumit Bhaduri stated, "[t]he challenges of turning Indian science into part of an innovation process are many. … Many competent Indian scientists aspire to be ineffectual administrators [due to administrative power and political patronage], rather than do the kind of science that makes a difference".[23] Prime minister Manmohan Singh spoke at the 99th Indian Science Congress and commented on the state of the sciences in India, after an advisory council informed him there were problems with "the overall environment for innovation and creative work" and a 'warlike' approach was needed.[24]
| Session | Year | Place | General President | Title/Theme |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1914 | Kolkata | Ashutosh Mukherjee | About Science Congress |
| 2nd | 1915 | Chennai | W. B. Bannermann | The importance of knowledge of biology of medical, sanitary and scientific men working in the tropics |
| 3rd | 1916 | Lucknow | Sidney J. Burrard | The plains of northern India and their relationship to the Himalayan mountains |
| 4th | 1917 | Bengaluru | Alfred Gibbs Bourne | On scientific research |
| 5th | 1918 | Lahore | Gilbert T. Walker | On teaching of science |
| 6th | 1919 | Mumbai | Leonard Rogers | Researches on cholera |
| 7th | 1920 | Nagpur | Prafulla Chandra Roy | Dawn of science in modern India |
| 8th | 1921 | Kolkata | Rajendranath Mookerjee | On science and industry |
| 9th | 1922 | Chennai | C. S. Middlemiss | Relativity |
| 10th | 1923 | Lucknow | M. Visvesvaraya | Scientific institutions and scientists |
| 11th | 1924 | Bengaluru | N. Annandale | Evolution convergent and divergent |
| 12th | 1925 | Varanasi | M. O. Forster | On experimental training |
| 13th | 1926 | Mumbai | Albert Howard | Agriculture and science |
| 14th | 1927 | Lahore | J. C. Bose | Unity of life |
| 15th | 1928 | Kolkata | J. L. Simonsen | On chemistry of natural products |
| 16th | 1929 | Chennai | C. V. Raman | On Raman Effect |
| 17th | 1930 | Allahabad | C. S. Christopher | The science and disease |
| 18th | 1931 | Nagpur | R. B. Seymour Sewell | The problem of evolution experimental modification of bodily structure |
| 19th | 1932 | Bengaluru | Lala Shiv Ram Kashyap | Some aspects of the Alpine vegetation of the Himalaya and Tibet |
| 20th | 1933 | Patna | Lewis L. Fermor | The place of geology in the life of a nation |
| 21st | 1934 | Mumbai | Meghnad Saha | Fundamental cosmological problems |
| 22nd | 1935 | Kolkata | J. H. Hutton | Anthropology and India |
| 23rd | 1936 | Indore | U. N. Brahmachari | The Role of science in the recent progress of medicine |
| 24th | 1937 | Hyderabad | T. S. Venkataraman | The Indian village – its past, present and future |
| 25th | 1938 | Kolkata | James Jeans (Lord Rutherford of Nelson died prematurely) | Researches in India and in Great Britain |
| 26th | 1939 | Lahore | J. C. Ghosh | On research in Chemistry in India |
| 27th | 1940 | Chennai | Birbal Sahni | The Deccan Traps: an episode of the Tertiary era |
| 28th | 1941 | Varanasi | Ardeshir Dalal | Science and industry |
| 29th | 1942 | Vadodara | D. N. Wadia | The making of India |
| 30th | 1943 | Kolkata | D. N. Wadia | Minerals' share in the war |
| 31st | 1944 | Delhi | S. N. Bose | The Classical Determinism and the Quantum Theory |
| 32nd | 1945 | Nagpur | Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar | Give science a chance |
| 33rd | 1946 | Bengaluru | M. Afzal Hussain | The food problem of India |
| 34th | 1947 | Delhi | Jawaharlal Nehru | Science in the service of the nation |
| 35th | 1948 | Patna | Ram Nath Chopra | Rationalisation of medicine in India |
| 36th | 1949 | Allahabad | K. S. Krishnan | |
| 37th | 1950 | Pune | P. C. Mahalanobis | Why statistics? |
| 38th | 1951 | Bengaluru | H. J. Bhabha | The present concept of the physical world |
| 39th | 1952 | Kolkata | J. N. Mukherjee | Science and our problems |
| 40th | 1953 | Lucknow | D. M. Bose | The living and the non-living |
| 41st | 1954 | Hyderabad | S. L. Hora | Give scientists a chance |
| 42nd | 1955 | Vadodara | S. K. Mitra | Science and progress |
| 43rd | 1956 | Agra | M. S. Krishnan | Mineral resources and their problems |
| 44th | 1957 | Kolkata | B. C. Roy | On science for human welfare and development of the country |
| 45th | 1958 | Chennai | M. S. Thacker | Grammar of scientific development |
| 46th | 1959 | Delhi | A. L. Mudaliar | Tribute to basic sciences |
| 47th | 1960 | Mumbai | P. Parija | Impact of society on science |
| 48th | 1961 | Roorkee | N. R. Dhar | Nitrogen problem |
| 49th | 1962 | Cuttack | B. Mukherji | Impact of life sciences on man |
| 50th | 1963 | Delhi | D. S. Kothari | Science and the universities |
| 51st | 1964 | Kolkata | Humayun Kabir | Science and the state |
| 52nd | 1965 | Kolkata | Humayun Kabir | |
| 53rd | 1966 | Chandigarh | B. N. Prasad | Science in India |
| 54th | 1967 | Hyderabad | T. R. Seshadri | Science and national welfare |
| 55th | 1968 | Varanasi | Atma Ram | Science in India – some aspects |
| 56th | 1969 | Mumbai | A. C. Joshi (A. C. Banerjee died prematurely) | A breathing spell:plant sciences in the service of man |
| 57th | 1970 | Kharagpur | L. C. Verman | Standardization: a triple point |
| 58th | 1971 | Bengaluru | B. P. Pal | Agricultural science and human welfare |
| 59th | 1972 | Kolkata | W. D. West | Geology in the service of India |
| 60th | 1973 | Chandigarh | S. Bhagavantam | Sixty years of science in India |
| 61st | 1974 | Nagpur | R. S. Mishra | Mathematics – queen or handmaid |
| 62nd | 1975 | Delhi | Asima Chatterjee (the first lady scientist to be elected as the General President) | Science and technology in India: present and future |
| 63rd | 1976 | Visakhapatnam | M. S. Swaminathan | Science and integrated rural development |
| 64th | 1977 | Bhubaneswar | H. N. Sethna | Survey, conservation and utilisation of resources |
| 65th | 1978 | Ahmedabad | S. M. Sircar | Science, education and rural development |
| 66th | 1979 | Hyderabad | R. C. Mehrotra | Science and technology in India during the coming decades |
| 67th | 1980 | Jadavpur | A. K. Saha | Energy strategies for India |
| 68th | 1981 | Varanasi | A. K. Sharma | Impact of development of science and technology on environment |
| 69th | 1982 | Mysuru | M. G. K. Menon | Basic Research as an integral component of self-reliant base of science and technology |
| 70th | 1983 | Tirupati | Barry Ramachandra Rao | Man and the ocean – resource and development |
| 71st | 1984 | Ranchi | R. P. Bambah | Quality science in India – ends and means |
| 72nd | 1985 | Lucknow | A. S. Paintal | High altitude studies |
| 73rd | 1986 | Delhi | T. N. Khoshoo | Role of science and technology in environment management |
| 74th | 1987 | Bengaluru | Archana Sharma | Resources and human well-being-inputs from science and technology |
| 75th | 1988 | Pune | C. N. R. Rao | Frontiers in science and technology |
| 76th | 1989 | Madurai | A. P. Mitra | Science and technology in India:technology missions |
| 77th | 1990 | Kochi | Yash Pal | Science in society |
| 78th | 1991 | Indore | D. K. Sinha | Coping with natural disaster: an integrated approach |
| 79th | 1992 | Vadodara | Vasant Gowarikar | Science, population and development |
| 80th | 1993 | Goa | S. Z. Qasim | Science and quality of life |
| 81st | 1994 | Jaipur | P. N. Shrivastava | Science in India: excellence and accountability |
| 82nd | 1995 | Kolkata | S. C. Pakrashi | Science, technology and industrial development of India |
| 83rd | 1996 | Patiala | U. R. Rao | Science and technology for achieving food, economic and healthy security |
| 84th | 1997 | Delhi | S. K. Joshi | Frontiers in science and engineering, and their relevance to national development |
| 85th | 1998 | Hyderabad | P. Rama Rao | Science & Technology in Independent India : Retrospect and Prospect |
| 86th | 1999 | Chennai | Manju Sharma | New bioscience: opportunities and challenges as we move into the next millennium |
| 87th | 2000 | Pune | R. A. Mashelkar | Indian science and technology into the next millennium |
| 88th | 2001 | Delhi | R. S. Paroda | Food, nutrition and environmental security |
| 89th | 2002 | Lucknow | S. K. Katiyar | Health care, education and information technology |
| 90th | 2003 | Bengaluru | K. Kasturirangan | Frontiers of science and cutting-edge technologies |
| 91st | 2004 | Chandigarh | Asis Datta | Science and society in the twenty first century : quest for excellence |
| 92nd | 2005 | Ahmedabad | N. K. Ganguly | Health technology as fulcrum of development for the nation |
| 93rd | 2006 | Hyderabad | I. V. Subba Rao | Integrated rural development: science and technology |
| 94th | 2007 | Annamalainagar (Annamalai University) | Harsh Gupta | Planet Earth |
| 95th | 2008 | Visakhapatnam | Ramamurthi Rallapalli | Knowledge Based Society Using Environmentally Sustainable Science And Technology |
| 96th | 2009 | Shillong | T. Ramasami | Science Education and Attraction of Talent for Excellence in Research |
| 97th | 2010 | Thiruvananthapuram. | G. Madhavan Nair | Science & Technology of 21st Century – National Perspective |
| 98th | 2011 | Chennai (SRM Institute of Science and Technology) | K. C. Pandey | Quality education and excellence in science research in Indian Universities. |
| 99th | 2012 | Bhubaneshwar | Geetha Bali | Science And Technology for Inclusive Innovation- Role of Women |
| 100th | 2013 | Kolkata | Prime Minister Manmohan Singh | Science for shaping the future of India[25] |
| 101st | 2014 | Jammu | Ranbir Chander Sobti | Innovations in Science & Technology for Inclusive Development |
| 102nd | 2015 | Mumbai[26] | Sarjerao Bhaurao Nimse | Science and Technology for Human Development |
| 103rd | 2016 | Mysuru | Ashok Kumar Saxena | Science and Technology for Indigenous Development in India[27] |
| 104th | 2017 | Tirupati (Sri Venkateswara University)[28] | D.Narayana Rao | Science & technology for national development |
| 105th | 2018 | Imphal (Manipur University) | Dr. Achyuta Samanta | Reaching the unreached through science and technology |
| 106th | 2019 | Jalandhar (Lovely Professional University) | Dr. Manoj Chakrabarti | FUTURE INDIA – Science and Technology |
| 107th | 2020 | Bangaluru (UAS) | Prof. K. S. Rangappa | Focal Theme - Science & Technology : Rural Development |
| 108th | 2023 | Nagpur (Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University) | Dr. Vijay Laxmi Saxena | Focal Theme - Science and Technology for Sustainable Development with Women Empowerment |