Frontiers of Science and Technology:Opportunities and Challenges

The Fourth Conference of Karnataka Science and Technology Academy (KSTA) was organised at Mangalore University on 28^th and 29^th January, 2012. The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Karnataka, Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda inaugurated the conference as well as science exhibition. In his inaugural address, the Chief Minister urged the scientific community to pursue the challenges and convert the challenges into opportunities in the present competitive world. He mentioned challenges that the state is facing, especially in drought management, dry land development and resource conservation. Furthermore, he stressed the need of effective utilization of available water resources for agriculture as well as storage and processing of agricultural products. He said that only a quarter of the agricultural land in the state is irrigated and hence it is necessary to develop drought resistant variety of crops for dry land cultivation. He exhorted scientific fraternity to come up with tangible solutions to the challenges in the field of marine fisheries management, solid waste management, renewable energy and climate change. He concluded his speech by announcing special fellowship scheme to encourage students who opt for basic science subjects at degree, PG and doctoral levels.