A person cannot progress without a scientific thought process, new discoveries from time to time have brought society to its present state. In today’s era, every person should have a scientific outlook. Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru Ji was the first to opine on this. He started a campaign to promote a scientific outlook in India after the nation’s independence. Pt. Nehru Ji believed that if public representatives and scientists worked together in coordination, then it would easily solve every problem in the country.

The Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel, said so to the young scientists during the inaugural ceremony of the 2-day-long 18th Chhattisgarh Young Scientist Congress 2023 organised at Raipur’s DDU Auditorium.

The Chief Minister said that the government has worked towards applying this view of Nehru Ji in Chhattisgarh. We have taken steps to raise scientific awareness in citizens, and have included scientific innovations in our schemes and programs in all fields.

While addressing the young scientists, the Chief Minister said that many of them hail from rural backgrounds due to which they understand the challenges and needs of villages quite well. Baghel opined that the amalgamation of their talent with the traditional experiences of the villagers can start a new era in the nation. They can recreate the era that Mahatma Gandhi used to dream of. It is possible to realise the dream of rural India and Gram Swaraj.

The Chief Minister also said that we have to accelerate research to regulate climate change or find alternatives to adjust to the change. If we don’t use the resources properly, they get misused, which should be avoided.

He added that finding solutions to current problems on the basis of old research will not help new research emerge in society. Therefore, young scientists should think of new ways of research.

While addressing the young scientists, the Chief Minister said that the person who doesn’t ask questions and doesn’t look for solutions is left behind in society. If Nehru Ji hadn’t built the infrastructure, Indians would have been as backwards as the neighbouring countries, but today they can face the world.

The Chief Minister said that the Government of Chhattisgarh is the first government in the world to purchase cow dung. Now Vermicompost is being manufactured from cow dung. Rather than burning the stubble, it is being sent to Gauthans.

Attempts are being made to give back to the earth as much as things are being taken from it. Nature has been generous to Chhattisgarh and we are using the natural resources to generate employment.

The Advisor to the Chief Minister Pradeep Sharma, Vice Chancellor of Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University Prof. Sachchidanand Shukla, President of Chhattisgarh Young Scientist Congress 2023 Prof. Kallol K. Ghosh and Prof. Shams Parvez, Director General of Chhattisgarh Council of Science and Technology Dr. S. Karmakar, and young scientists from all across the country were present on the occasion.