Washington: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who brought about a sea change in scientific research and development in India, has received "high marks" from Indian scientists who now enjoy access to state-of-the-art facilities and a windfall of funds, says the prestigious US 'Science' magazine.
In a rare cover story on India which includes Singh's interview, the magazine reports that Indian scientists have said they never had a better environment and availability of resources before.
"On balance, Indian scientists give Singh high marks for his tenure as Prime Minister," says the cover story with the tag line, "world's largest democracy is aiming for status as a scientific powerhouse".
Referring to the recent announcement by the Prime Minister to hike R&D expenditures from around USD 3 billion last year to USD 8 billion in 2017, the magazine says the windfall is meant to turbocharge initiatives to create elite research institutions, bring expatriate Indian scientists home, enrich science education and equip smart new laboratories.
Included in this push is South Asia's first biosafety level 4 lab for handling the most dangerous pathogens, slated to be up and running this spring, says the lead article authored by Richard Stone and Pallava Bagla.
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