Mohali, Feb 17 (PTI) Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday stressed that research is the bedrock of economic supremacy and global distinction, asserting nations that lead in research command global respect in economy, strategy, and international influence.

Dhankhar further stated that cutting-edge research, which is often the demand of the times, must correlate with the needs of society.

The vice president visited the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) here and interacted with its faculty, students and staff.

Addressing a gathering, Dhakhar laid emphasis on research and said that it must be authentic and should have a positive cascading impact on people's lives.

"Research that sits on a shelf, research done merely for credentials, or research that only embellishes a profile is not true research. Research that merely scratches the surface is not research," he said.

"Research must be authentic; it must create a wave. It should have a positive cascading impact on people's lives," said the vice president.

"Industries, business, trade and commerce are driven by research. At the moment we are living in times we never imagined. You are facing those times as much as I am doing. We call them Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Blockchain, Machine Learning ," said Dhankhar.

"These technologies are known as disruptive technologies. But these technologies come with enormous challenges that can uproot us. But they come also with a basket of opportunities. And we must focus on unleashing opportunity out of these disruptive technologies. Our research has to come up to that mark. It is our good fortune that the government is alive to the situation," he said.

He further said research is the bedrock of economic supremacy and global distinction.

"A country's reputation, image, and power are defined by research. Nations that lead in research command global respect in economy, strategy, and international influence," he said.

"There was a time when we did not give due attention to research, assuming that someone else would provide it at a price. But now, we have changed course," said Dhankhar.

He said, "We have an ancient legacy of having been researchers, discoverers, giving to the world right from zero in arithmetic or mathematics," as, he said, Aryabhatta, Brahmagupta laid foundations of global mathematics.

"Our scientific pantheon, Raman known by Raman effect, Bose, Sarabhai, Chandrasekhar, Shah, Bhatnagar, and our former president, they define India's research mind, orientation," said Dhankhar.

He also appealed to corporates, saying they must come forward to drive the engines of research.

"Alongside the government they should be making liberal contributions beyond their CSR funds. If you look at the global corporates, how much they invest you will be surprised. We take pride in the last five years. We have increased our research fiscal commitment in the corporates to 50 per cent above," he stated.

He said there was a time when "corruption was the password for opportunity, recruitment or business licence".

"Power corridors were leveraged by lies and agents. All this neutralised. And neutralised also through technological applications," he stated.

He further emphasised the significance of scientific advancement as the foundation of global leadership.

He acknowledged India's rich scientific and mathematical heritage and cited the nation's remarkable achievements in space research as a testament to its scientific prowess.

Dhankhar said scientific progress drives strategic national development and emphasized the importance of investing in research.

He expressed confidence in the vast intellectual potential of India and its ability to lead in technological advancements. PTI CHS VSD HVA

Research as economic bedrock: authentic, societally relevant inquiry must drive technology-led national development and corporate investment. Research is the foundational driver of economic strength and international influence and must be authentic and societally relevant rather than credential-driven. It should produce cascading positive effects on people's lives and align with disruptive technologies that pose challenges and opportunities. The government must enable research while corporates should invest beyond CSR, with technological applications helping to curb corruption; the nation's scientific heritage and space achievements evidence its capacity to lead strategic national development through focused research investment.