The grandest gathering of science students and scientists in India, the Indian Science Congress, has been holding a permanent session of five days for more than a hundred years. However, this time, the Indian Science Congress has been postponed.
The five-day event starts on its customary date, i.e., January 3. However, this year, it could not start on the customary date, and there is no declaration as to when the event will start this year. Whether or not the event will take place this year is also not known. What could be the reasons for the uncertainty? Will the Indian Science Congress take place this year? If yes, why has it been postponed?
We tried to answer some of these questions.
What does the postponement of the Indian Science Congress mean?
It has been for the very first time that the Indian Science Congress did not take place in a year. Yes, the Covid-19 pandemic years, i.e. 2021 and 2022 also did not see the session happening. However, apart from these two years, the event has been held every year since its inception in the year 1914.
Last year, i.e., 2023 marked the 108th edition of the Indian Science Congress, and it was held from 3rd to 7th January in Nagpur. The event is organized every year by a registered society, named the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA). Additionally, the Department of Science and Technology in the Union Ministry of Science and Technology is the chief funder of the Indian Science Congress. While the congress has been punctual in holding the event every year till now (except for the pandemic years), not much is known for the present year.
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Why is the Indian Science Congress postponed this year? What could be the reason?
Well, the reason for the postponement of the Indian Science Congress lies in a disagreement between the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
The birth of the disagreement took place in September 2023, when the Department of Science and Technology (DST) withdrew funding aid to the Indian Science Congress, alleging the latter of "financial irregularities." The accusations, however, were straightforwardly denied by the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA). The ISCA further challenged the directive of the DST in the court which stated that the funds by the government should not be spent on anything in relation to the Indian Science Congress. The lawsuit thus is unresolved to date.
The expenses of the event are hugely done by the contribution of the DST. Earlier, the DST used to contribute Rs 3 crore to the ISCA, however, the amount was increased to Rs 5 crore in the year 2023. Additionally, a few other government bodies also fund the ISCA. These government bodies also help the ISCA by providing space for exhibitions at the time of the event.
Now, the ISCA made a decision to hold the Indian Science Congress this year at Lovely Professional University (LPU), Jalandhar, thereby moving it from its original venue, i.e., Lucknow University. This move was taken in the hope of getting some funds. It is not the first time that LPU has conducted the event. In the year 2019 also, the 106th edition of the Indian Science Congress was hosted by Lovely Professional University. However, the decision was not seen favorably by the DST this time. The ISCA argued on the same saying the DST's approval for the venue is not needed by the association's executive committee. It also argued that at the time of choosing the new venue, a DST representative was also present.
With the disagreement getting heated up, Lovely Professional University decided to withdraw its offer to host the Indian Science Congress.
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