Prof. Amulya Kumar N Reddy

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Technology - Science, Technology and Society

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Papers 

Astra -- Past, Present And Future

ASTRA -- PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE: An analytical insight  about ASTRA, undertaken by Amulya after 25 years of its functioning. Contains the SWOT analyses done in 1974, 1989 and currently in 2000. Concludes with some ideas, on the way forward.

 Operational Criteria For Joint Implementation -- A Developing  Country Perspective,

Operational criteria for joint implementation -- a developing country perspective; This paper serves as the basis of the discussant's remarks on the paper OPERATIONAL CRITERIA FOR JOINT IMPLEMENTATION of Tom Jones, presented at the International Conference on the Economics of Climate Change, Paris, June 14-16, 1993, organized by OECD and IEA. This comment considers the issue of joint implementation from the perspective of developing countries.  However, these countries vary widely, and in particular, the newly industrializing countries (NICs) differ greatly from the other developing countries.  Hence, this comment concentrates on the perspective of these non-NIC developing countries.

Process Model For The Commercialization Of Improved Technologies, Process model for the commercialization of improved technologies in rural areas; K. N. Krishnaswamy and Amulya, Draft November 1990.

Scientists in the developing countries derive, from their counterparts in the West, the emerging areas for research, the trends and fashions and the stream of inspiration. They turn to these counterparts for the criteria of excellence, and for assessment, evaluation and recognition. In countries where the market plays a dominant role, technology is like a commodity catering to the demands of those who can purchase it, and ignoring those who cannot afford it. In this stifling context, the challenge arises of  re-vitalizing science and re-orienting technology in developing countries and making them development-oriented. The existence of  the poverty-stricken masses without adequate purchasing power, firstly, distinguishes the commercialization process in developing countries from that in the industrialized countries, and secondly, implies that the market alone cannot be relied upon.

Science and Technology for Rural India,

This paper describes the efforts of the Indian Institute of Science with its programme for the application of science and technology to rural areas known by its acronym ASTRA. It indicates some directions along which the model should be updated, taking into account the emphasis on sustainable development.  It also covers the failure modes in the generation, commercialisation and dissemination of rural technologies.

Lessons from Astra's Experience of Technologies for Rural Development

A short note listing 28 lessons from the ASTRA experience.  A few examples: Rural people may be poor and illiterate; but they are not irrational; We must first be students; if we want to be successful teachers; Women are often the best agents of disseminating the technologies for rural development. 

Popular Articles 

Invitation To Join A Discussion On Self-Reliance, Energy for Sustainable Development ! Volume VI No. 2 ! June 2002              

Invitation to join a debate on self-reliance, published in ESD, June 2002. Also has the 1984 Sao Paulo Declaration on self-reliant energy analysis and planning.

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An Overview Of R & D In India, March 1988.

Historical overview, problems and suggestions.

Strategic Aspects of R&D Management, March 1988              

Strategic aspects of R&D management, March 1988. Corporate planning, R&D as business, R&D strategy, etc.

1. Technology and Development 2.The Concept of Appropriate Technology, March 1988.  

Technology and science will realise their historical missions, only if they strike roots in the societies, which support them. Introduces the concept of appropriate technology.

Technological Change: The Impact of Innovations on Society, March 1988.

Understanding technological change, profits and R&D, role of Government and social returns.

Science, In India, March 1988.

A historical overview, concluding that the hope lies in a commitment to the local enviro

Innovation Under The Impact of Technology Imports, February 1988 and Some historical features of science & technology in India, March 1988.

First part looks at import & self reliance; the second part captures the dynamics of science & technology in India.

Science, Technology, Society and Innovation, January 1988. 

An overview of Science and Technology and their inter-relationship with Society. 

Technology and Society In Stratified Developing Countries, The University of Pennsylvania's January 1988.

Analysis of technology development in a developing country and its focus, orientation , benefits to the poor. 

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Presentations 

A Way Forward For Astra, Keynote Address, National Workshop on Rural Technology, ASTRA, IISc ASTRA -- past, present and future. Keynote Address, National Workshop on Rural Technology, ASTRA,  20/7/2000. 

A 26-slide presentation, giving the three phases and way forward for ASTRA. Looks from the angles of relevance, excellence, governance and financial viability.

How A Radical Idea Becomes A New Orthodoxy, American Scientist, January-February 1988

How a radical idea becomes a new orthodoxy; Based on Marginalia -- Anatomy of the Extinction Debate, Keith Stewart Thomson, American Scientist, January-February 1988. A short note describing the nine stages in the process.

Other 

Technology and Violence, Text of the Seventh Saadath Hassan Manto Lecture under the auspices of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi, delivered at the Indian International Centre on June 15, 2000. 

Amulya starts from his reflections after visiting Auschwitz, goes on to Hiroshima, and then to India's nuclear tests, which he feels has exposed the internal condition of Indian science. He writes: Scientists escape responsibility for the mis-direction of science by the clever excuse of the amorality and neutrality of science. Examples of this are the statements made by Abdul Kalam that “he is only an engineer” and that his missiles “can also be used for delivering flowers”. 

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"The Human and Ecological Costs of Big Dams"

Introduction to Visthar Lecture by Arundhati Roy on "The Human and Ecological Costs of Big Dams" on 1 July 1999 at Bishop Cotton's Girls School. Amulya talks of the issue (which involves conflict between the establishment and people) and the speaker, whom he admires (Suffice it for me to say that while I was reading “God of Small Things,” I would keep exclaiming to my wife "Sheer Poetry!", a very precious expression of mine that I reserve only for elegant cover drives and sweetly-timed hook shots in cricket).

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