India's Scientists Seek Better Pay, More Perks

NEW DELHI—Scientists in India's government laboratories, unhappy over receiving proportionately less money than other civil servants, are calling for salary increases and more perks. Leading the drive are the associations of scientific workers of India's autonomous research councils: the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the Indian Council of Medical Research and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The extent of the dissatisfaction became evident earlier this spring when, for the first time in the history of independent India, government scientists took to the streets in protest. About 800 scientists, many of them women, carried placards and wore black armbands as they marched in silence through New Delhi streets on March 26 to draw attention to their cause. Science careers require intensive study, and India's science curriculum is open only to the brighter students. "In Delhi, a candidate still has to have over 90 percent marks to get admission to a science course," noted Srinivasan Varadarajan, a former president of the Indian Academy of Sciences and currently chief consultant to the nation's Planning Commission. Compensation for such effort can be long in coming. A junior research fellow in the doctoral program at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, for example, receives a monthly stipend of 1,000 rupees (about $78 U.S.), while a janitor in the same department earns 1,400 rupees. Some private companies, particularly the multinationals, do pay young scientists extremely well. But in government laboratories, scientists and engineers face a growing gap in salaries and perks (such as housing and residential telephones) compared with those who enter the Indian Administrative Service, which handles the government's routine management functions. The basic pay scale for scientists and lAS officers joining government service is identical: 2,200 rupees a month. After four years' service, scientists receive 2,600 rupees in basic pay compared with 3,200 rupees for lAS officers. The gap gets progressively wider until, after 17 years, scientists are receiving 4,200 rupees versus 5,900 rupees for the civil servants. According to V.P. Jain, secretary of the Delhi University Teachers Association, the relative deprivation among Indian scientists is growing. And while IAS officers move to higher grades and pay scales automatically based on years of service, government scientists often must face assessment committees before being granted a promotion. What vexes Indian scientists even more than their low pay is their low status in society at large. There is no better yardstick of the status of various professions than the matrimonial columns of local newspapers. Whether advertising in The Hindu of Madras or The Hindustan Times of Delhi, parents with marriageable daughters rarely seek a scientist for a son-in-law. They prefer business executives, medical doctors, accountants or lAS officers—even if they have to go outside their caste to find one. Arunachalam is secretary of the Indian Science Writers Association. Indian-Soviet Pact Signed NEW DELHI—India and the Soviet Union have agreed to collaborate in several areas of scientific research and technology, including immunology, biotechnology, space research, materials science and synchrotron radiation technology. The agreement was signed this spring followed a week-long discussion between a visiting Soviet delegation led by Guri Marchuk, president of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, and an Indian group headedbyC.N.R. Rao, chairman of the Science Advisory Council to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Though details are still to be worked out, the agreement on bilateral science and technology cooperation calls upon the two nations to: Join forces on technological projects in such areas as waste treatment, hormone production, powder metallurgy, crystal growth techniques, laser production, materials processing in space and environmental protection, with an emphasis on desertification. Step up cooperation in such basic areas as mathematics, chemistry, astrophysics, earth sciences and oceanography. Promote exchanges of graduate and postgraduate students. Organize science and technology exhibitions to be shown in each other's country.

India's Scientists Seek Better Pay, More Perks

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of