PM holds war room meet; reviews security, defence

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh chaired a high-level war room meeting in New Delhi on Saturday evening with senior ministers and defence chiefs to discuss the security preparedness.

The meeting lasted for over two hours and discussed the country's security preparedness and selective strikes on terror camps across the border.

Defence Minister AK Antony, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister P Chidambaram and senior armed forces officials including all the three Service chiefs attended the meeting.

The marathon meeting assumes significance as there is heightened terror threat and tension with Pakistan and the Union Government has already declared that it is keeping all options open on dealing with any external threat following the Mumbai terror attacks carried out by Pakistani terrorists.

Earlier in the day, the Defence Minister AK Antony presided a separate meeting with Coast Guard and Defence Ministry officials to review the security of Indian coastline where he cleared the acquisition proposals for the sea-guarding agency.

India cannot remain a global 'back office': PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said India should not remain a 'back office' to provide R&D solutions to the world and asked scientists to do more to keep pace with China and Japan who have 'scored over' it in taking scientific and technological advances to the people.

"We cannot be satisfied becoming a back office for providing research and development solutions for multinational companies," he told a gathering of top scientists in New Delhi.

Singh gave away the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prizes, the country's highest science awards, for 2007 and 2008 to 21 young scientists.

"China and Japan have scored over India in delivering to the people the benefits of scientific and technological advances," he said.

"Unless we apply ourselves to this task, the powerful scientific tools of social and economic change will remain confined to our laboratories and institutions," he said.

"Our scientists should work to connect science to the daily lives of millions of Indians," the prime minister said pitching for use of public-private partnerships to commercialise technologies emerging from R&D programmes being funded by various science departments.

He said the scientists should focus more on linking the lab with the market and asked Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to take lead in this regard.

"To begin with, let CSIR work to commercially exploit its

knowledge base, currently embodied in more that 3,000 or so patents held nationally and globally," Singh said.

Noting that the world is confronted with potentially devastating climatic changes, the prime minister asked scientists to use the "ingenuity and inventiveness" of science to find ways to "leapfrog" to future technologies, which are affordable and sustainable.

"We can use some part of the public investment, which we will spend to stimulate our economies, in these technologies that will help build sustainable pathways to development," he said.

The Ministry of Science and Technology is putting together a plan that will provide us the framework for research and investigation in the area of climate change, he said.

Singh said the government will spare no resource to ensure that the country's huge potential in the science and technology is utilised.

"The creativity of and innovation of our scientists are a matter of great pride for our country. They have pushed the frontiers of science to enable us to strengthen our defence capabilities; improve our healthcare and our agricultural economy; extend the reach of our communications and land on the moon," he said.