Bangalore: Describing poverty as the country's "enemy", President A P J Abdul Kalam on June 7 told scientists and young researchers to fight it through labs by their researches.

Addressing scientists and the faculty of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research at Jakkur on the city outskirts, Kalam said 260 million people lived below the povery line and poverty was "our enemy".

Scientists must fight poverty through bioscience, nano technology and other fields through the laboratories, he said and stressed that their research would give happiness to the nation.

Emphasising on basic research, he said, "I would like to see industrial research start in basic science also."

He also noted that the Science and Technology Policy announced by the Union government early in 2003 gave more freedom to science and technology.

Feeling at home with the scientists of the institute, where he recalled he used to spend a lot of time, he also had a word of advice to scientists – not to be disheartened by failures, which were sometimes part of research.

Kalam praised the work being done at the institute, which he called a creation of eminent scientist C N R Rao and said its laboratories were remarkable.

Karnataka Governor T N Chaturvedi and Chief Minister S M Krishna were present.

PTI