Mains Practice Questions

Approach

• Describe Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR)
• State reasons for why India needs a policy on Scientific Social Responsibility
• Give a suitable conclusion

Introduction:

Scientific Social Responsibility can be defined as “the ethical obligation of knowledge workers in all fields of science and technology to voluntarily contribute their knowledge and resources to the widest spectrum of stakeholders in society, in a spirit of service and conscious reciprocity”.

New India with its vibrant young populace is a country of ambition and aspiration which requires a renewed emphasis on the integration of science and technology with society at both the institutional and individual levels. Therefore the policy of Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR) which seeks to facilitate easy access to resources and knowledge, would turn out to be a significant step in the right direction.

India is going to be the first country in the world to implement a Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR) Policy on the lines of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to encourage science and technology (S&T) institutions and individual scientists in the country to proactively engage in science outreach activities to connect science with society.

Body

Why India needs a policy on scientific social responsibility -

• To encourage science and technology (S&T) institutions and individual scientists in the country to proactively engage in science outreach activities to connect science with society.
• To harness the latent potential of the scientific community for strengthening linkages between science and society, and for making the S&T ecosystem vibrant.
• To develop a mechanism for ensuring access to scientific knowledge, transferring benefits of science to meet societal needs, promoting collaborations to identify problems and develop solutions.
• To facilitate actions towards addressing Technology Vision 2035 Prerogatives and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the country such as water, ecology, health, and livelihood.
• To empower women, disadvantaged and weaker sections of society through scientific interventions.
• To help MSMEs, Startups and Informal sector enterprises in increasing their overall productivity.
• To facilitate scientific intervention in rural innovation.

The policy envisages strengthening science-society linkages in an organic manner by building synergy among all the stakeholders so as to usher in a cultural change in the conduct of science for the benefit of society at large in the country.

Conclusion

When most research is being done by using taxpayers’ money, the scientific establishment has an ethical obligation of “giving back” to society. “SSR is not only about the scientific impact upon society but also about the social impact on science. SSR would, therefore, strengthen the knowledge ecosystem and bring efficiencies in harnessing science for the benefit of society”.