Chandigarh: Calling for an "urgent national mission" to enrich human resources in science and technology, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today (Jan 3, 2004) said a plan to "incentivise" world-class scientific talent of India origin should be formulated for their return to the country.

Observing that "a significant number of Indian scientists and engineers, who had gone to Western countries for study and work, are now returning to India", Vajpayee said in his message to the Science Congress at Chandigarh that this "brain drain to brain gain" had been possible because attractive opportunities for challenging Research and Development activities were being created in India itself.

Such opportunities would vastly grow in number and variety in the years to come, he said in the message read out in his absence by Science and Technology Minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi at the inauguration of Science Congress at the Punjab University campus.

Vajpayee said this was one of the changes being witnessed in the country in the field of science and technology and unlike in the past, top-notch Indian scientists and technology developers were no longer of the view that they can produce high-quality work only by going abroad.

"I therefore urge our universities, other academic institutions, research laboratories and public and private sector industry to take up enrichment of India's human resources in S and T as an urgent national mission," he said.

The Prime Minister said, "We should also devise a plan to incentivise world-class scientific talent of Indian origin to return to India in significant numbers and earn international laurels by working in our research institutions."