The Times of India: As many as 12% scientists and 38% doctors in the US are Indians, and in NASA, 36% or almost 4 out of 10 scientists are Indians says India's science minister D Purandeshwari. The minister was defending the country's higher education system and the state of research to the Indian parlament. Purandeshwari said that although a lot needed to be done to encourage research, it was wrong to run down the country's higher education system since most Indians who excelled abroad were products of Indian institutions.

The minister also listed initiatives taken to encourage research, especially in science. Apart from creating 1,000 positions of research scientists at various levels, she mentioned preparations to create 10 networking centres in basic sciences in leading departments of universities. These new centers would help in promoting collaborative research and give access to advanced facilities.

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