Insights on Global Challenges and Opportunities for the Century Ahead

414 Pages·2012·25.93 MB·English

Insights on
Global Challenges and Opportunities for
the Century Ahead

Editors
V. Dashavantha Reddy
K. Venkateswara Rao
K. Rama Krishna
©2017, by Publisher 

All Rights Reserved 

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editors.  

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Hyderabad – 500095, Telangana State 
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Printed ISBN  :  978‐93‐5230‐185‐0 
E‐Book ISBN  :  978‐93‐5230‐186‐7 

Disclaimer 
The Publisher and Editors do not claim any responsibility for the accuracy of the data, 
statements  made,  and  opinions  expressed  by  authors.  The  authors  are  solely 
responsible for the contents published in the paper.
Dedicated to
TEACHERS and STUDENTS

PREFACE
Presently, humanity is facing the crisis of quality of living despite astonishing developments in
science and technology. This apparent paradox can be attributed to the existence of extreme
economic, educational and cultural disparities across communities and countries. The
challenges are enormous and need strategic planning and proper implementation with
commitment. In this context, Universities have to play a crucial role in building human resources
with comprehension and competence to resolve such issues. On the occasion of the
establishment of hundred years of the Osmania University and fifty years of the Department of
Genetics as well as twenty five years of the Centre for Plant Molecular Biology (CPMB), it is
envisaged to bring out a resource volume covering various academic disciplines. The volume
entitled “Insights on Global Challenges and Opportunities for the Century Ahead” contains 81
articles with insights from eminent personalities including Nobel laureates, World Food Prize
winners, Padma awardees, Heads of national and international organizations, distinguished
scientists, social workers, and spiritual leaders.
The article by Prof. SARPV Chaturvedi envisions a mission for universities to achieve harmony
and welfare for the coming years. Suggestions regarding improving the quality of life by
strengthening the education system are elaborated by Dr. C. R. Bhatia, Former Secretary,
Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. The importance of education for basic life
as well as transforming the society was explained by Dr. Dame Asha Khemka, while Prof. John
Brennan, London School of Economics, recommends considering the social context of the
student whereby the disadvantaged can be brought into the main stream. Francesca Severini
(The Reggio Emilia) emphasized inculcating the idea of education as a right and a responsibility.
Dr. Scott Gray (The Sudbury Valley) shared experiences regarding the importance of practicing
democracy during school years and the effectiveness of experiential-based learning. Renowned
educationist Prof. Ronald Barnett, University College London Institute of Education, proposed
the development of dynamic and ecological curriculum for Universities, while Dr. Clif Kussmaul,
Muhlenberg College, USA, highlighted the deployment of technological tools for strengthening
the pedagogy aimed at improved learning outcomes. Prof. Gautam R Desiraju (IISc Bangalore)
suggested measures to be taken to improve education and science in India. Dr. N D Reddy,
Founder & CEO, Suti Soft Inc., USA, listed opportunities for outgoing graduates becoming
entrepreneurs and Dr. Cris Wilbur, Head, HR, Holffmann-La Roche, emphasized the need for
developing a global mindset for a successful career. Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus
discussed various ways to minimize the gap between the rich and the poor. Dr. Y V Reddy
(former Governor, Reserve Bank of India) described different factors that influence global
economy and plausible options for overcoming challenges. Prof. Philip G. Altbach, Director,
Centre for International Higher Education, Boston, USA, dealt loopholes of ranking systems of
academic institutes.
Prof. Goran Therborn, University of Cambridge, UK, analyzed the ideology of Marx and its
increasing relevance in the present day society. Topics covering social issues such as heritage
professionals (Prof. Hester Dibbits, Director, Reinwardt Academy, Amsterdam University),
poverty and punitive regulation (Prof. Loic Wacquant, University of California, Berkeley, USA),
uplifting the marginalized women (Dr. Brindeshwar Pathak), entrepreneurship (Dr. M Shesheer
Kumar), pollution hazards (Dr. Maria Gunnoe, North American Goldman Prize Winner), language
issues (Prof. Vijay Kumar Tadakamalla; Prof. Vasanta Duggirala, Osmania University) justice
delivery system (Prof. A. Lakshminath, Pro Chancellor, Chanakya National Law University, Patna)
and human dignity (Prof. David C. Yamada, Director, New Workplace Institute, Suffolk University
Law School, USA) are discussed. Technological advances such as space mission (Dr. A S Kiran
Kumar, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organization), artificial intelligence (Prof. S Sameen
Fatima, Osmania University), global navigation satellite systems (Prof. A D Sarma, Osmania
University), remote sensing (Dr. Y V N Krishnamurthy, Director, National Remote Sensing
Center), renewable energies (Prof. D N Reddy, Former chairman, Recruitment and Assessment
Centre, Defence Research Development Organization; Dr. B R Reddy, Aramco Research Center,
USA), material science (Prof. T. Radhakrishnan, University of Hyderabad; Prof. S. V.
Suryanarayana; Prof. P. Venugopal Reddy, Osmania University), green buildings (Mr. Gregory
Kats) and water management (Prof. Asit K. Biswas, National University of Singapore; Dr. Sumith
Choy, Rubicon Waters) are presented. Prof. Harsh Gupta (Former Director, National Geophysical
Research Institute) elaborated on options for coping with earthquakes.
Nobel laureate Dr. Roger Guillemin elaborated the developments of neuroendocrinology and
described the importance of basic research in unforeseen medical applications. Further, topics
covering recent developments in biology and medicine such as genomics and public health (Dr.
Lalji Singh, Former director, Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology), genome editing and 3D
printing (Dr. Seyed E. Hasnain, Former Director, Center for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics),
nutrition and health management (Dr. Sesikeran Boindala, Former Director, National Institute
of Nutrition), personalized medicine (Dr. Raju Kucherlapati, Harvard Medical School), stem cells
and regenerative medicine (Dr. Nibedita Lenka, National Center for Cell Sciences), nutrigenomics
(Dr. G. Bhanuprakash Reddy, National Institute of Nutrition), nutrition and epigenome (Dr.
Mohammed A. Junaid, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental
Disabilities), biotechnology for diagnostics/therapeutics (Prof. Ramareddy V Guntaka, University
of Tennessee, USA), neutraceuticals (Dr. Appian Subramoniam), ethnopharmacology (Dr. P.
Pushpangadan, Former director, National Botanical Research Institute) and food preservation
(Dr. Prasad S. Variyar, Bhabha Atomic Research Center) are included.
Dr. T. Mohapatra (Director-General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research) emphasized that
the agricultural research in India must have a global vision for solving national problems. Dr. B.
Venkateswarlu (Vice Chancellor, VNMK Vidyapeeth, Parbhani) listed the challenges for the 21st
century in meeting food and nutritional security. Prof. C. Manoharachary and Prof. L
Venkateswar Rao elaborated the significance of fungi and microbes for diverse applications. Dr.
P. Suprasanna (Bhabha Atomic Research Center) enumerated the role of induced mutations in
crop improvement. Dr. Suhas P. Wani (ICRISAT) described strategies for breeding biofortified
millets and balanced nutrient management as a way for nutrition revolution. Dr. P. Brabeck-
Letmathe (Chairman, Nestle) outlined the haunting problems of malnutrition and lifestyle
diseases, and emphasized the need for nutrition secured world. Prof. Arjula R. Reddy (Former
Vice Chancellor, Yogi Vemana University) narrated developments in genetics, genomics and
genome editing technology and their applications in crop improvement. Dr. Ramesh V. Sonti
(Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology) elaborated biotechnological applications in crop
improvement. Dr. P. Ananda Kumar (Indian Institute for Rice Research) described the essentials
of genome editing and crop improvement. Dr. Rajeev K Varshney (ICRISAT) presented a
perspective on legume genomics while Dr. M. Sujatha (Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research)
gave an overview of genomics and genomic resources in oil seed crops. The World Food Prize
laureate Dr. Gurdev S Khush (University of California, Davis, USA) opined that the public-private
partnership in agricultural biotechnology is crucial in food and nutritional security of the future.
Dr. Vijay Gupta Modadugu (World Food Prize laureate) expressed the importance of aquaculture
for food and nutrition security in the coming years. Prof. PSN Reddy explained in brief chiral
pharmacology and natural product chemistry. Dr. S Chandrasekhar (Director, Indian Institute of
Chemical Technology) described advances in synthetic organic chemistry. Dr. A. V. Rama Rao
(Former Director, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology) conveyed congratulatory message to
the Osmania University and shared his association with the University. The editors take pride in
receiving the message from Dr. A.V. Rama Rao who is having a unique distinction of an Indian
academician becoming a successful entrepreneur following his superannuation. On spiritual
front, insights on introspection and guiding forces (Dr. Deepak Chopra), the idea of one humanity
(Dr. Domen Kocevar), Islamic spirituality in present day’s context (Mr. Shaykh Hamid Hasan),
Swamy Vivekananda’s influence on spirituality today (Swami Bhajananda), Universal
brotherhood (Chinna Jeeyar Swamyji) and harmony and peace (The Dalai Lama) are presented.
The information embodied in these articles is highly useful for the student community, teachers,
researchers and policy makers.
We convey our profound thanks to all the contributors for their enthusiastic response and
commitment. We express our special thanks to Mr. Mittapelli Suresh Reddy, Technical Officer,
CPMB, for his constant involvement and valuable inputs from conception till publication.
Editors