Kolkata, Aug 30 (UNI) Modern India has had a strong focus on science and technology, realising that it is a key element of economic growth. India is among the topmost countries in the world in the field of scientific research, positioned as one of the top five nations in the field of space exploration. The expansion of scientific contemplation in modern India can be credited to the scientists of the nineteenth century. They essentially shaped the way we live now and many of the scientific research work currently in progress follows the lead of these brilliant thinkers. The inception of modern science in India and its passage has left its lasting imprint for the posterity to dwell upon the subsequent proliferation of science. Indian scientists were not given the credits of discoveries which were passed on to British officers even if they didn’t have anything to do with the discovery. Scientific fingerprinting was born in India but the laurels were heaped on others, the naming of Everest was not justified among many such other instances. The Indian Independence in 1947 brought the urge to explore, indigenize and also usher in modern science and nurture sophisticated technologies. And now Indian detection of gravitational waves opens up new frontier for understanding of universe. During the period of Independence, Particle physics in India was highly developed and the world recognition followed. Bose-Einstein collaboration and findings of Meghnad Saha are some exemplary instances. The study of natural sciences was on full swing. The Botanical Society of India and Zoological Society of India came forward with the unchartered flora and fauna of the planet. Paleobotany flourished under Birbal Sahni. The Geological Survey of India and the Survey of India had laid its modicum of research areas that later bore results at the hands of people like D.N Wadia and Radhanath Sikdar respectively. Meghnad Saha ushered in stellar astrophysics. He started the physics department in Allahabad University and Institute of Nuclear Physics, National Academy of Science in 1930, Indian Physical Society in 1934 and the Indian Institute of Science in 1935, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics in 1943, and the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science in Kolkata. Saha was also the chief architect of river planning in India. He made the original plan for Damodar Valley Project. C.V. Raman excelled in astrophysics while working at the Indian Association of Cultivation of Science, the cornerstone of modern science in India founded in the earlier century by Mahendralal Sircar. S.N.Bose became an advisor to the newly formed Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). He was the president of Indian Physical Society and the National Institute of Science. CSIR has been ranked 12th in the world, amongst the government institutions, improving its position after being at the 14th position for three consecutive years, with an overall global ranking of 99 in the world during 2016, according to the report of SCImago Institutions Rankings. On an average, CSIR files about 250 Indian patents and 300 foreign patents per year. About 13 per cent of CSIR patents are licenced, that remains above the global average. The indelible ink used during the General Elections in India was developed by CSIR in 1952. This innovation of CSIR is now exported to more than 25 countries including Canada, Turkey and South Africa. Subsequently, the Indian Institutes of Technology came up in Kharagpur in 1951 and charted a seminal course of Indian research and technology. Indian Arctic program started in 2008 with the setting up of Indian research base, Himadri. In 2012, India became a member of the International Arctic Science Committee and in 2013, India was accorded permanent observer state in the Arctic Council. So far, there have been 42 expeditions, 5 teams per year. In 1981, Indian scientists had reached the Antarctic and set up Bharati station. In 2014, India’s first moored observatory was deployed in the Arctic. In 2015, India became a part of International Ocean Drilling Program in the Arabian Sea. Science without Humanity [is sin], maintained Gandhiji. One apt instance of science benefiting livelihood is the Potential Fishing Zone Services for all 14 sectors of the Indian coastline. It has increased the net profit of fishermen by 3-4 times in the range of 34,000 to 50,000 crore. From one village of 32 fishing boats, there is diesel saving of 70,000 litres per month. 40 per cent users are small craft fisher folk who have witnessed an average increase of 16,000 Rs in their income when fishing in Potential Fishing Zones. Earthquake monitoring, cyclone predictions and Tsunami Warning System are safeguards against vagaries of nature. MORE UNI BM KK