Need to keep watch on health of animals too for well-being of humans, planet: Chandrasekhar

Visakhapatnam (AP), Jun 10 (PTI) Underlining the ethos of ‘One Health’ and the fragility of the planet, a top official in the Ministry of Science and Technology on Saturday said mankind needs to keep a watch on the health of animals too for the overall well-being of humans and nature.

Addressing a gathering at the 14th convocation of GITAM (deemed-to-be university) on Visakhapatnam campus, S Chandrasekhar, secretary in the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in the ministry, said humans in the process of becoming the “supreme commander of the planet” have also “abused” it.

Chandrasekhar laid emphasis on how life expectancy is likely to increase in the coming decades, but natural resources will remain limited. Hence, youths need to play an active role in making the planet more healthy and sustainable.

Discovery of coal burning as a source of energy may be getting cursed today. That was the need of the day when they invented those processes and those processes are no more green, he said.

“So, how are we going to make the process green and not disturb the planet… see that global warming doesn’t happen and we don’t require air conditioning… that will all depend on how technologies are developed from today onwards,” said Chandrasekhar, also a reputed scientist.

He urged the youth to identify the challenges faced by society amid exponential technological growth as well as the challenges posed by these technologies. He also asked them to find out what changes they should do so that the technologies and technological processes “become greener, more sustainable”.

The senior official spoke of the evolution of mankind from apes, and the ability homo sapiens have acquired over multiple phases of evolution that have made them a “selfish, super commander of the planet”, and also peppered his address with light-hearted comments to drive home his point.

He also cited the challenges of the Covid pandemic, saying, “Remember it has not come into from one human being to another… it (Covid) started elsewhere, in China’s Wuhan, and then it went into bats and spread across the planet”.

“Imagine, if you don’t protect animal’s health even that can kill you. So, the responsibility of all of us as we progress towards 100 years of Independence… we need to keep a watch on the health of animals. That’s why the world is talking of ‘One Health’ vision,” the senior DST official said.

‘One Health’ refers to an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimise the health of people, animals, and ecosystem.

“You can’t just sacrifice animals for your well-being. Today, whatever genetic modifications we have done… kind of biological interventions we have done in the animal or plant varieties is selfish,” Chandrasekhar lamented.

He also cited the example of genetic modification being done to “increase” the size of chickens.

We need to look at genetic modification with extreme caution and the impact it is going to have on the planet, the official said.

In his address, he also urged students to not become secure job-seekers, but providers of secure jobs through innovation and entrepreneurship.

“The world is full of opportunities, but there are challenges too. See the opportunities this planet has and turn them into products. Make this planet more healthy and sustainable, but sustainability cannot come at a cost,” he added.

India is a signatory to reaching net-zero emissions by 2070 which is not too far. We need to depend on solar and nuclear energy and we have to really get out of coal, he said.

Chandrasekhar also touched upon the evolving field of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), and ‘ChatGPT’, which has become a global phenomenon.

In a light-hearted comment, he said, professors of GITAM (Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management) may have to figure out if toppers used their own knowledge or ‘ChatGPT’, drawing laughter from the audience.

The senior official said, while AI/ML “will try to become supreme commanders over homo sapiens because we created them,” young minds should “create ‘someone’ who listens to you, make you perform better, and makes the planet better”.