Shri Kapil Sibal

A few days ago, I had the pleasure to listen to Shri Kapil Sibal, minister of Human Resource Development and Science and Technology under the current Shri Manmohan Singh government in India. During his 40 minute speech at MIT that included a Q&A session, he touched on different topics regarding science and technology needs in India, reservation policy for OBC and SC/ST, and use of genetically modified (GM) crops for increasing agricultural productivity.I have always believed that Indian society can use a lot more technology for the betterment of its poor citizens. Kapilji’s mention of solar-powered rickshaws to alleviate the problem of TB in city rickshaw-wallas touched on that theme. I had similar ideas about use of solar power for dairy farmers and specialty agricultural producers.

Kapilji is an amazing speaker, no doubt about that. He explained that problems and challenges faced by India are qualitatively different than that of developed countries; and those challenges need to be understood and resolved by performing research in India, and not by sitting in US. It is in this context that he invited universities like MIT to start world-class research and educational institutions in India, focusing especially in the sectors of agricultural productivity, energy, and health.

Let me now tell you about what I learned most from the talk. When I entered IIT, my opinion was that SC/ST students would lower the quality of education in such institutions. During the talk, Kapilji said that we as a nation cannot prosper by neglecting the underrepresented sections of the society. The backward sections have to be given more opportunities, and these opportunities can be in the form of reservations policies, affirmative action (as in US), or student scholarships (effective, but difficult to implement in India where corruption prevails and decent basic education is sometimes difficult to obtain). Kapilji mentioned that reservations provided a simple and effective means to achieve the goal; however it has to be done without reducing the quality of education. I could not agree more with him, and think that reservations are good as long as SC/ST or OBC’s candidates obtain a minimum threshold marks (let’s say 10% less than general candidates) for entrance into prestigious institutions.