New Book "Science, Technology and Development in India: Encountering Values" by Rajeswari S. Raina (Ed.)

Science, Technology and Development in India: Encountering Values

by Rajeswari S. Raina (editor)

New Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2015. ISBN: 9788125058557, INR 675.00, HB, 312 p. 

About the Book 

There are multiple development problems in India that demand S&T solutions. Sound science is crucial for development policy formulation. Though many debates on technologies and development outcomes assume they are value-neutral, the S&T and development policy realms and the dynamic historically-conditioned interface between them are value-laden and normative. This book argues that to ensure ethical development outcomes, it is important to acknowledge these values and enable public engagement and dialogues to get them right. The essays in this volume—organised into four sections based on the values that inform the relationship between S&T and development policy—discuss and analyse how these values and norms govern India's S&T and development choices.

Table of Contents 

Introduction: Values Matter, by Rajeswari S. Raina

Section I

1. From Retrogression to Rescue: Policy Gaps in Rural and Agricultural Development, by A. R. Vasavi

2. Academic Ethics, Indian Scientific Academic and the BT-Brinjal Controversy, by Gautam I. Menon and Rahul Siddharthan

3. Regulation, Legislation and Moral Contestations: Case of Indian Microfinance, by Tara S. Nair

Section II

4. Water Policy and Science: Disciplines, Perspectives, Values, by Ramaswamy R. Iyer

5. Transformations in the World of Higher Learning: Changing Norms and Values of Universities and Research Institutes in India, by Dhruv Raina

6. Science, Technology in Agricultural Development: Need for a New Paradigm, by P. S. Vijay Shankar

Section III

7. Technoscientific Practices and Ethics, by Prajit Basu

8. A Unique Identity and Technology, by Usha Ramanathan

9. Between Life-creation and Policy Formulation: Assisted Reproductive Technologies in India, by Tista Bagchi

Section IV

10. The Ethical Implications of Sea-level Rise due to Climate Change, by Sujatha Byravan and Sudhir Chella Rajan

11. Ethics and Science in Climate Change, by D. Raghunandan

12. Climate Science, Agriculture and the Policy Jukebox, by Rajeswari S. Raina

Conclusion: Engaging with the Value Problem, by Rajeswari S. Raina

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