India-Japan 2nd Nobel Laureate S&T Seminar Series - Talk by YSRajan 2022

INDIA- JAPAN NOBEL LAUREATE S&T SEMINAR SERIES

SECOND EVENT 17 MAY 2022
(Keynote address from Indian side by Y S Rajan)

Konnichiwa (with a bow)
Namaste (with folded hands)

It is indeed a great honor bestowed on me by the organizers, to be a part of this prestigious Seminar at a very great symbolic time of the countries and deliver a keynote address.

I bow to all of you present here and others who are watching.

I am really humbled by the distinguished speakers before me and more to come later.

In particular, I admire Prof. Kajita Takaaki for his work on cosmic rays. He comes from the distinguished and admirable tradition and proven performance of research scientists of Japan.

Not a small achievement as there are 25 Japanese Nobel Laureates after 1949 in hard sciences of which 12 are from Physics. Only 3 of them went to stay in the USA.

Most persons in India would be thinking of Japan only as a great manufacturer of high-tech products, dominant in automobiles, electronics sectors, materials, chemicals, pharmaceuticals etc.

The SIMULTANEOUS existence of world class, highly competitive industrial and business capabilities ALONG WITH massive demonstration of excellence in basic researchers in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology and Medicine carries with it several messages for us in India.

The proactive work by the Indian Embassy in Tokyo and H.E. Ambassador Verma, and Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India and Secretary DST in engaging Japanese counterparts augurs well to learn more, emulate some of the practices of Japan and also share Indian achievements to synergise more and more. I would attempt to give some suggestions during this talk.

I review the past in a fast forward mode, coming further on to the present and then suggest new areas including softer aspects.

Prof. Kajita’s work took me to my origins. After my post graduate degree in Physics & Electronics from Bombay University, I started as a Ph.D. research scholar as a part of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai’s group in Cosmic Rays in 1964 at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad. After two years of work, I realized the serious limitations of scientific and technical infrastructure in India to attempt some contemporaneous Cosmic Rays research which Sarabhai desired. After a lot of discussion with me over a few months, Sarabhai made me do engineering work for space and my career changed!

The amount of Japanese work in Cosmic Rays during1960ś was substantial and I used to read the English translation of the papers.

Most persons in India and even in Japan do not know the extent of involvement of Japanese scientists and industries during those beginning years of Indian Space Program. I will narrate some of them.

Introducing India to Satellite Communication ground stations as early 1966 through Experimental Satellite Communication Earth Station (ESCES) in Ahmedabad, was a UNDP project for which a Japanese company Nippon won the contract. It was about 45 feet diameter antenna. I have seen the meticulous work of Japanese engineers and technicians in constructing it from scratch. Many innovative procedures were used to make it high quality and at a much lower cost, which gave an edge over its competitors. Since I was reasonably good at microwave engineering if I narrate them, I won't have time for other items. ESCES Station was helpful not only for India but to be a training ground for many persons from the developing countries for many years and for the groundbreaking SITE with NASA later.

Another very major contribution was taking place at that time at Thumba near Trivandrum, where Sarabhai had begun to set up the Space Science & Technology Center (SSTC). There was a special collaboration between Prof. Hideo Itokawa, a pioneer in Japanese Rocketry as a part of the work of SSTC. Due to severe external constraints imposed on post - war Japan, he could not develop a full-fledged rocket and launch vehicle programme in Japan. He decided to help India develop a full-fledged launch vehicle development programme and trained many Indian engineers from SSTC / ISRO in Japan. They are all stalwarts and veterans now.

I won't mention further details here as Prof. Itakowa faced several problems in the Japanese political system for this collaboration, and there might have been international pressures. But his imprint of basic practical and theoretical knowledge has been genetically imbedded in our best engineers. Even the selection of current launch range in Sriharikota owes to his training of them.

Fortunately for Prof. Itakowa, though he resigned from the university, much later the Japanese Govt. realized his merit and a medium sized Japanese Space programme began. In addition, he was honored by naming a near Earth Asteroid as 25143 Itakowa.

But it is unfortunate that the India-Japanese collaboration in Space programme could not go much further. The irony is that out of the countries which are Space faring powers now, Japan and India are the only ones which started their space programme with a fully peaceful objective!

Prof. U.R. Rao (who later became Chairman ISRO (1984-1994)) during 1967-70 also had a collaborative rocket payload experiment for X-ray Astronomy with Prof. Minoru Oda.

Once he became Chairman ISRO, in 1984 Prof. U R Rao visited Japan around the mid 1980’s and held discussions with key Japanese organizations including NASDA for possible collaborations. ISRO had already developed several capabilities by then. I was there too during the visit in which many items were identified for collaboration. But things did not move further.

Another one person Prof. Shunji Murai started a great institution called Asian Conference of Remote sensing (ACRS). I had participated in them. He can be considered as one of the fathers of GIS Systems.

Yet another item I would like to mention. As young engineers during late 1960’s and early 1970’s we have taken ideas from some of the wonderful publications in English from Japan to shape our Telemetry, Telecommand & Tracking ground systems.

But still major collaborative projects did not emanate and sustain in the space field.

On the scientific front outside ISRO, there were scientist-to-scientist contacts in space sciences between scientists of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and Japanese Scientists. A very good article by Prof B. V Sreekantan in 1995 traces some work in “Cosmic Rays and High Energy Astronomy”. They were all ground-based experiments. First Japanese scientist to visit TIFR around 1952 was Prof. Satio Hayakawa. I thought it all ended up there!....... I was happy to see a recent paper “Measurement of the Electrical Properties of a Thunder Cloud Through Muon Imaging by the GRAPES – 3”. GRAPES-3 is a Muon telescope located near Ooty in India. Expansion of GRAPES - 3 is Gamma Ray Astronomy Pev Energies - Phase - 3.

The paper appeared in Physical Review Letters (2019). Its authors are B Hariharan et. al. Many Japanese Scientific Collaborations are supported by DST as was GRAPES.

I am tempted to explain the results, but I restrain myself. Just two points: 184 major thunderstorms were detected from April 2011 - December 2014. One in December 2014 produced a massive potential 1.3 GV (Giga Volts). FIRST DIRECT EVIDENCE of such a high voltage.

This is a good example for a large-scale involvement by Indian and Japanese scientists in avant garde areas. It has many engineering challenges and also many scientific research potentials. Also, I, being now more of person looking for practical applications, I note a few important possibilities. Detection of giga volt potentials in thunder clouds has a potential to set up regular monitoring networks. Shift to 5G and many electric power grids being electronically linked, are susceptible to black outs due to very high voltage electric charges in the atmosphere.

Monitoring in advance would help in preparing for temporary alternate solutions and more importantly in saving the active electronic systems by switching them off till the high voltages wane.

Here is a good example of basic research possibly linking to an urgent Disaster Management Tool for the whole of economy, for the whole world.

I am going to compress my direct experience with TIFAC which is an institution under DST since 1988. Technology Forecasting & Assessments Council (TIFAC) has benefitted from a lot of direct ideas from Japanese institutions like MITI, STA etc. Prof. Eto had a few informal meetings to review some methodologies of TIFAC. Technology Vision for India 2020 (a national exercise which was done during 1994-95) drew heavily on Japanese methodologies adapted to Indian conditions. Many more things are there. I am skipping by just mentioning that the wonderful domains - specific reports of actual products of technologies by Japanese companies have helped several TIFAC studies. One example is that from TORAY on Advanced Composites.

On the Industry - business side, India - Japan Collaborations are plenty now, most visible ones being Maruti - Suzuki during the 1980's and now Delhi Metro, etc. Pharma Sector Daichi taking over Ranbaxy.

Still R&D Centers of Japanese industries in India are at a low key unlike many other transnationals. These are the ones which can lead to more of S&T & Industry- Academia collaborations. In addition, it can help Japan to tap the young talents in India without the need for physical immigration. This will help Japan to offset the demographic imbalance now in Japan. My best guess is that in Industry business side - Japan India joint ventures can become five times more during the next 5 years as the inhibitory aspects which constrained India - Japan collaboration in areas like space, defense, etc. are now disappearing.

Top five areas currently attracting FDI and equity flows from Japan are:

• Automobile Industry
• Drugs and pharmaceuticals
• Service Sectors (Financing, Banking Insurance, Non-Finance Business outsourcing, R&D, Technology Testing and Analysis, etc.)
• Metallurgical Industry
• Telecomm

My mention of the above, is to leave a thought with S&T planners and academia, as to whether they can study these to ENHANCE or CREATE NEWLY major S&T research projects of RELEVANCE to these areas. Seamless connection between R&D, Engineering, Mass production & Marketing achieved in Japan is an item many of our Indian institutions can learn in the process. On the Japanese side they can benefit from the bright Indian minds, many of which, when oriented to specific goals can deliver desired results rapidly, as they have proven in sectors like Automobile, ICT, Space etc.

I was also happy to see that JICA projects related to North- East India and in West Bengal deal with Drip Irrigation, Water Supply, Sewage etc. as these are very vital for rest of India as well. There is a project with ICAR on sub-terrain water flow in saline soils.

Key sectors of India - Japan cooperation identified at governmental level CURRENTLY are:

1. Infrastructure
2. Defence Manufacturing
3. Skill Development
4. Digital & IT
5. Railways
6. Health care

Plus, items mentioned by Dr Ujjwala Tirkey.

I would suggest some NEW ideas now. The entire field of SOIL BIOLOGY is just in the Horizon. It has many opportunities from basic research to immediate practical applications in some areas. For the basic research on soil biology, Japanese scientists will find in India almost all types of soils and climate available in the world. It can lead to new findings and also applications worldwide. Climate change impacts can be minimized only when we understand soils. I suggest a special India- Japan Task Force, funded well to implement projects.

Now I will address some softer issues which inhibit two-way flow. I derived some good ideas from the CII organized CEO speak from both countries held on April 20, 2022.

While Japanese companies manufacture in India and sell to the whole world, Indian industries especially Pharma are not able to export to Japanese domestic market. One Mr. Ichiro Fujikawa addressed this issue with clarity and FRANKNESS. He said that for it to happen three items are required:

1. Trust
2. Long term relationship
3. Quality including physical appearances

He added that there is mismatch on this, from Indian industry. He also said Japanese consumers trust Japanese Products. There are several technical issues involved especially quality and standards. But trust and long-term relationships are softer aspects. I would suggest that it is true for basic research collaboration too.

Besides business and professional aspects, trust comes through spoken languages too. One major problem from the Indian side is the lack of speaking ability in Japanese. Whether you talk to the consumer or client or a technician in a scientific research lab, language always wins the heart. I suggest DST start immediately a program for the Japanese language courses for scientific researchers and fund in LARGE numbers. Others may follow later. Alumni association Sakhti Kumar et al. can play a great role.

In addition, as Japan has done accommodation for foreign researchers in Ninomiya house and Takezono house at Tsukuba, Indian government, DST et. al along with Indian industries interested in Japanese R&D, may build excellent facilities in four or five places in India with due care of cultural aspects of the visitors and culinary habits.

Last item I want to briefly refer to, is from the proceedings of the India - Japan celebration of the International Day of the Older Person - webinar organized by Indian Embassy Japan and DST on October 1, 2020 & Japanese Embassy in India & METI of Japan. It is a brief and wonderful document for many immediate actions and long-term Research - Basic to Applied. Dr. Hiror Nakatari wearing several hats and also associated with Osaka University said that Ayushman Bharat and Asia Health and Wellbeing Initiative (AHWIN) can act as a Solid Platform for Mutual Collaboration not only for the two countries but regions beyond. He used a word in Japanese which is holistic wellbeing not just health which means healing a disease or dysfunction. Indian Ayurveda has a similar meaning.

Dr. Kondo, Chief Medical Officer of Medical Excellence in Japan, spoke about the importance of “Regulatory Science” that “reconciles fruits of Science and Technology with the most desirable form of harmony between people and society by making accurate predictions, assessment and judgment based on evidence”.

This will be a challenging new field for the best minds of both countries. Where else I say about it than the Nobel laureate lecture series. Also, it is backed by the right Institutions on both sides and above all two embassies working together. Add on to it there is the Quad where Japan and India work together.

In addition to the practical aspects for immediate applications, as well as some visible research in basic and applied areas, I have referred to above, WHICH ARE VERY IMPORTANT, I request that both countries touch upon this new area which may bear fruit in a decade or so.

Thank you all again

Y S Rajan